WALES

Departmental Manpower

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes have been made to the roles and responsibilities of senior staff in her Department since 7 May 2010.

David Jones: There has been no substantial change to the responsibilities of senior staff since 7 May 2010.

Departmental Overseas Visits

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department has spent on overseas visits by Ministers and officials since 7 May 2010.

David Jones: Nil.

Departmental Secondment

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff her Department has appointed on secondment since 7 May 2010; and from what organisation each such member of staff has been seconded.

David Jones: No member of staff has been appointed on secondment. Two members of staff from the Welsh Assembly Government have been working in the Department since 7 May 2010.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officials her Department has appointed on fixed term contracts since 7 May 2010.

David Jones: No staff have been appointed on fixed term contracts since 7 May 2010.

Departmental Training

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department has spent on employee training and staff development since 7 May 2010.

David Jones: My Department has spent £6,256.31 on training and staff development since 7 May 2010. The amounts spent include a professional accreditation and £1,926.31 is for advanced payments for courses in the new year.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Banks

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what account he has taken of  (a) banking market conditions in Northern Ireland and  (b) the effects on that market of the current financial situation in the Republic of Ireland in developing his proposals for an enterprise zone in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The forthcoming HM Treasury consultation paper on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy, to be published by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke), will examine a wide range of proposals for possible economic reform options to rebalance the NI economy and attract significant new investment. I am aware of the particular circumstances for lending to SMEs in Northern Ireland, though there is some evidence that lending is being affected by low take-up rather than credit rationing by banks.
	The Treasury will work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive over the implications for the Northern Ireland banking system of recent events both in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere.

Departmental Pay

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff employed by his Department were not paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage in the latest period for which figures are available.

Owen Paterson: There are no staff employed in the London office of the Department whose gross hourly pay on a full-time equivalent basis, including London Weighting, is below the London living wage.

SCOTLAND

Higher Education

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the  (a) Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and  (b) Minister of State for Higher and Further Education on the impact on Scottish higher educational institutions of the planned increase in university tuition fees in England.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I are in regular contact with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on a range of matters important to Scotland, including student finance.

Higher Education

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with  (a) the Scottish Executive and  (b) Universities Scotland on the impact on Scottish higher educational institutions of the planned increase in levels of university tuition fees in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I are in regular contact with a range of stakeholders, including Universities Scotland, on matters concerning higher education in Scotland.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Construction: Finance

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what additional cost in respect of building work on the House of Commons estate was incurred as a result of the House sitting in September 2010.

John Thurso: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) on 13 October 2010,  Official Report, column 290W.

Drinking Water

Robert Halfon: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the House of Commons Service spent on bottled water in the last 24 months; what the average cost to the House per litre of water supplied was; which company holds the contract to supply bottled water to the House; and under what procedures  (a) the tender for this contract was issued and  (b) the contract was let.

John Thurso: The House has spent £95,023 on bottled water (other than bottled water obtained for water coolers) over the last two years for which full figures are available (2008-09 and 2009-10). The average cost for bottled water over the period was 38p per litre. The contract for supplying bottled water is held by Hildon Natural Mineral Water. Contract award followed the EU restricted procedure. The contract was extended in 2010 with the intention of competitively re-tendering in 2011.
	Where the House pays for water coolers together with bottled water, the cost of the bottled water cannot be separately identified. The House has spent £9,825 on water coolers, including bottled water and supplies, over the last two years for which full figures are available (2008-09 and 2009-10). The cost for an 18 litre bottle for water coolers was 20p per litre. The House uses suppliers from a public sector framework contract. The supplier most frequently used is Pressure Coolers Ltd.

Official Hospitality

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the House of Commons Commission will take steps to assess the level of compliance with the regulations on the use of House dining facilities in respect of indirect fundraising for political parties in the last 12 months.

John Thurso: The House's Catering and Retail Services seek to ensure that the regulations on use of the dining rooms are complied with, principally, as regards fundraising for political parties, by requiring hon. Members to certify that they have read the regulations and will abide by them. The main responsibility lies with hon. Members. It is not clear what evidence the Commission could gather to make a general assessment of the level of compliance with the regulations. It is open to anyone who has evidence of a breach of the regulations to make a complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Attorney-General how many invoices the Law Officers' Departments processed in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Department  Numbers of invoices processed between 1 December 2009 and 30 November 2010 
			 TSol(1) 49,506 
			 CPS 350,394 
			 SFO 8,699 
			 NFA 895 
			 (1 )TSol also processes invoices for AGO and HMCPSI

Ejup Ganic

John Whittingdale: To ask the Attorney-General what fees have been paid to prosecution counsel instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service on the case of Ejup Ganic between 26 March 2010 and 20 August 2010.

Edward Garnier: The total fees paid to the five counsel instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the conduct of the extradition proceedings against Dr Ejup Ganic between 26 March 2010 and 20 August 2010 amounted to £69,000.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Communication

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, by what means the post of Director of Communications at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was advertised; who was responsible for drawing up the shortlist of candidates for that role; how many people were included on the shortlist of candidates; who sat on the interview panel; and on what date the appointment took effect.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how the post of Director of Communications was advertised; who was responsible for drawing up the shortlist of candidates for the role; how many people were included on that shortlist; who sat on the interview panel and on what date the appointment took effect. (29685)
	The post of the Director of Communisations was initially advertised in February 2010, but a candidate was not found. In May 2010, the role was re-advertised online on a number of websites, including PR Week, Guardian Jobs, Exec-Appointments.com, Green Park, Executivesontheweb.com, and diverse-leaders.com.
	Candidates were shortlisted for interview by IPSA from a long-list of applicants. There were four candidates on the shortlist.
	Final interviews were conducted by IPSA's chief executive, IPSA's chairman, and an independent panel member.
	The successful candidate's appointment took effect on 20 September 2010.

Communication

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) application form and  (b) supporting documentation for the person appointed as Director of Communications for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking if I will place in the Library a copy of the (a) application form and (b) supporting documentation for the person appointed as Director of Communications for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. 29686
	Applicants were requested to send their CV and a supporting statement based on the job specification and person specification. This information constitutes personal data and I will not therefore be releasing it. Copies of the job description and person specification are, however, available on the IPSA website.

Loans: Members

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many hon. Members have been refused advance loans by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to date.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question as to how many honourable Members have been refused advances and loans by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in 2010 to date (29496).
	We offered Members the facility to apply for an interest-free advance of up to £4,000 each. The advance is to assist Members to cover any expenses they incur that are allowable under the scheme. As of 8 December, 253 Members had applied for and had received such an advance. No applications for advances of up to £4,000 have been refused. One application for a greater sum was refused. This application was subsequently resubmitted for a permissible amount and approved.
	We have also provided loans for deposits on rented office and living accommodation. As of 8 December, 172 loans have been made to 157 Members. No applications for such loans have been refused. In one instance a Member submitted and subsequently withdrew an application as the deposit was no longer required.

Members: Allowances

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, on which dates the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) received a request for information under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 from  The Times newspaper on hon. Members' expenses; and on what dates the IPSA responded.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking on which dates the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) received a request for information under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 from The Times newspaper on Members' expenses; and on what dates the IPSA responded.
	IPSA received a Freedom of Information request from The Times newspaper on 22 September. We responded on 19 October advising the requestor that we would require more time to consider the use of a qualified exemption. On 19 November we provided a substantive answer. On 22 November we received a further request pursuant to our response. This resulted in the release of additional information on 30 November and further information on 14 December.

Members: Bank Services

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, to how many business bank accounts operated by the offices of hon. Members the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority made payments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking to how many business bank accounts operated by the offices of hon. Members the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority made payments in the latest period for which figures are available.
	IPSA can register a number of bank accounts for each MP; the purposes of each are determined by MPs themselves.
	By the end of November, IPSA had made payments relating to MPs' salaries and expenses into a total of 1,483 bank accounts. This number includes not only MPs' bank accounts, but accounts held by certain members of MPs' staff and MPs' landlords.
	Of these 1,483 bank accounts, some 295 are, for IPSA's purposes, operated by MPs exclusively for the payment of expenses. A further 645 of the 1,483 bank accounts are used to pay MPs' salaries, and we estimate that some 348 of these 645 are also used for the payment of expenses and other non-personal transactions.

Visits

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many site visits were carried out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in October and November 2010.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many site visits were carried out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in October and November 2010.
	During October 2010, IPSA officials carried out five visits to Westminster offices to discuss policy matters, and 50 visits for assistance with the online expenses system. In November 2010, IPSA officials made five visits to MPs in their constituencies, 10 visits to Westminster offices to discuss policy, and 53 visits for assistance with the online expenses system. In addition, IPSA Board members paid MPs two visits during this period.

EDUCATION

Day Care: Disabled

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to increase the availability of affordable and accessible childcare for disabled children.

Sarah Teather: All local authorities received funding in 2010-11 under the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare (DCATCH) programme. This funding has been used to embed changes to practice locally which will improve the service offered to disabled children. Local authorities are focusing their funding on a number of areas including: work force development, improving information for families and increasing capacity, inclusion and improving quality. Arrangements about funding for future years will be announced in due course.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people resident in  (a) England,  (b) Leicester and  (c) Leicester West constituency were in receipt of education maintenance allowance on the latest date for which figures are available

Nick Gibb: holding answer 30 November 2010
	 This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Free Schools

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Free Schools he expects to open in September 2011.

Nick Gibb: 22 Free School proposals that intend to open in 2011 are currently in the business case and plan stage. I am confident that they will submit strong business cases which will enable as many Free Schools as possible to open in September 2011.

School Linking Network Programme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated to the school linking network programme since October 2007; and how many projects in each local authority area have received assistance from that programme.

Nick Gibb: The Department has allocated £2 million to the School Linking Network (SLN) since October 2007.
	The SLN has supported 857 projects involving over 1,700 schools. Of these 857 projects, 379 have been funded by the £2 million from the DfE, with the remainder being self-funded. The breakdown by local authority is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Local authority  Number of DfE funded projects 
			 Barking and Dagenham 8 
			 Birmingham 10 
			 Bolton 10 
			 Bradford 10 
			 Bristol 8 
			 Bucks 10 
			 Bury 10 
			 Cheshire 10 
			 Cornwall 8 
			 Coventry 10 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Derby City 10 
			 Derbyshire 10 
			 Gateshead 10 
			 Gloucestershire 10 
			 Hull 10 
			 Kent 10 
			 Kirklees 10 
			 Lancashire 10 
			 LCA 10 
			 Leeds 10 
			 Leicester City 9 
			 Luton 10 
			 Manchester 10 
			 Milton Keynes 10 
			 Newham 10 
			 Norfolk 7 
			 North London International Schools Network (five boroughs) 10 
			 Northamptonshire 10 
			 Nottingham City 10 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 
			 Plymouth 9 
			 Rotherham 10 
			 Somerset 13 
			 Stockport 9 
			 Sunderland 10 
			 Tower Hamlets 8 
			 Wakefield 10 
			 Wigan 10 
			 Total 379 
		
	
	The funding also supports the 975 schools registered with SLN to help them to find links. Bespoke training days have been held across the country to help these schools to develop linking projects.

Schools: Sports

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for the future of the schools sports partnership.

Tim Loughton: The coalition Government's approach differs from that of the last Government. While the network helped schools to increase participation rates in the areas targeted by the previous Government, the fact remains that the proportion of pupils playing competitive sport regularly has remained disappointingly low.
	The Secretary of State has decided to withdraw central funding for the Youth Sports Trust because, in spite of significant central Government expenditure, nearly a quarter of all pupils do not do any competitive sport at all within their own school; and more than half of all pupils do not do any competitive sport at all against other schools.
	Furthermore, the actual provision of competitive sport across the country has been very patchy, with some 1,280 secondary schools having none of their pupils taking part in any intra-school sporting competition, and 710 schools where no pupils regularly take part in any inter-school competition.
	Consequently, the Secretary of State concluded that a fresh approach to school sport is needed and has announced that he will not continue to provide ring-fenced funding for school sport partnerships. By removing all the unnecessary targets and reporting requirements placed on schools by the previous Government's strategy, schools will be freed up to provide more opportunities for competitive sport that are most appropriate for their own pupils. The best way to increase participation is to give schools the freedom and incentives to organise school sport themselves, rather than imposing a central Government blueprint.

Schools: Sports

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of the removal of funding for Schools Sports Partnerships  (a) nationally and  (b) in Brighton Pavilion constituency on the provision of (i) after-school sports clubs, (ii) inter-schools competitions and (iii) dance and sports festivals.

Tim Loughton: The coalition Government's approach to school sport differs fundamentally from that of the previous Government. While the network of school sport partnerships helped schools to increase participation rates in areas targeted by the previous Government, the fact remains that the proportion of pupils playing competitive sport regularly has remained disappointingly low. Only around two in every five pupils play competitive sport regularly within their own school, and only one in five plays regularly against other schools.
	We are committed to creating an Olympic and Paralympic style school sport competition to address this. The best way to create a lasting Olympic legacy in schools is to give them the freedom and incentives to organise it themselves, for themselves, rather than imposing a central Government blueprint.
	When announcing his decision not to continue to ring-fence funding for school sport partnerships, the Secretary of State also lifted the many requirements of the previous Government's PE and sport strategy. This gives schools the freedom and clarity to concentrate on competitive sport. In giving schools this freedom, we are trusting school leaders to take decisions in the best interests of the pupils and parents they serve. This will allow schools, both nationally and in the Brighton Pavilion constituency, more time and greater freedoms to run after school clubs and to organise competitions and festivals involving other schools.
	I should clarify that the Department is not closing down school sport partnerships. Rather, they are being entrusted to schools, who can decide whether and how to use them in the future.

Special Educational Needs: Academies

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future funding of academies in respect of education services for children with low incidence special educational needs.

Sarah Teather: The Secretary of State is aware of this issue and will be making an announcement shortly about the future funding of academies.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Detention Centres: Children

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families have been separated when one parent is held in immigration detention while their children stay in the community for the purposes of immigration control in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such families were single parent families.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency will always first seek to achieve voluntary departure of illegal migrant families. Where families refuse to leave the UK, enforcement efforts will start with efforts to remove the family without the need to detain any family members. Separating parents from children is only ever done as a matter of last resort and only after careful case by case consideration.
	For example, there may be circumstances where a prisoner, who is also a parent, is released from prison and a decision is made to maintain their detention under immigration powers in order to effect their deportation. Such assessments are made on a case by case basis taking into account public and child protection concerns.
	However, family separations may occur for other reasons, such as for child protection purposes (which would be a matter for local authority children's services) or where the parent has chosen to separate the family by deliberately hiding the whereabouts of their children. Where children are missing the UK Border Agency will work with other statutory agencies, such as the police and local authorities, to try and locate the children and reunite them with their parent.
	At present we do not centrally hold the requested information. To do so would mean examining individual case records at a disproportionate cost. In response to the Independent Chief Inspector's report into family removals the UK Border Agency committed to improving the management information held on families, which we are currently reviewing.

Human Trafficking: Children

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will meet representatives of Barnardo's prior to her announcement of a strategy for human trafficking of the purpose of learning from their experience of child trafficking in the UK.

Damian Green: The voluntary sector plays a key role in the identification of, and provision of support to, victims of human trafficking. We are strongly supportive of this role and will continue to work in partnership with voluntary organisations to reduce the incidence of human trafficking.
	Home Office officials will shortly be contacting non-governmental organisations to discuss development of the forthcoming strategy on human trafficking.

Police: Manpower

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers,  (b) police community support officers and  (c) other staff in each police force area were assigned to each police function in the latest period for which figures are available.

Theresa May: holding answer 23 November 2010
	 The available data are provided in the tables placed in the House Library. The tables show the police officer, police community support officer, and police staff functions in England and Wales as at 31 March 2010. The available data is collected by the Home Office from police forces as part of the annual data requirement, ADR601.

Sergei Magnitsky

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will  (a) exclude from the UK and  (b) freeze the assets of any Russian officials found to be involved in (i) the arrest, treatment in prison and death of Sergei Magnitsky and (ii) the fraudulent activity against the Russian Federation he alleged before his arrest.

Damian Green: As the Prime Minister outlined in a previous response to this issue the Government remain very concerned by Mr Magnitsky's case. We are awaiting the conclusion of the official investigation into this case announced by President Medvedev in November 2009. It would therefore not be appropriate for me to comment any further at this time on the individual circumstances of the case.

UK Border Agency: Training

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training on the restraint of children UK Border Agency enforcement staff receive.

Damian Green: The use of control and restraint against children is used as last resort and only by specially trained officers. Arrest trained officers can only use the minimum amount of force necessary to carry out their duties, and the control and restraint of children must be limited to circumstances where it is necessary for an officer to use physical intervention to prevent harm to the child or any individual present.
	UK Border Agency arrest team immigration officers are trained in the use of control and restraint by accredited police trainers to standards that are laid down by the police. This training is reviewed regularly and all arrest trained officers are required to attend refresher training every 12 months, which they must pass in order to retain their accreditation.
	The use of control and restraint is carefully monitored and scrutinised internally to ensure that it is justified. Our operational activities are also subject to inspection by John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector.
	Further information on UK Border Agency procedures in family cases, including the use of force against children, can be found in chapter 45 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance manual which is available to view at:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/enforcement/oemsectione/
	As part of the review 'ending child detention for immigration purposes' the UK Border Agency is engaging closely with child welfare organisations to review training provided to staff who manage families.

Welsh Refugee Council: Finance

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what funding she plans to provide for the Welsh Refugee Council in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12;
	(2)  what funding her Department provided for the Welsh Refugee Council in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Damian Green: Funding has been made available to the Welsh Refugee Council for the provision of support for asylum seekers in the form of 'One Stop Service' and initial accommodation wrap-around services. The following table details the funds made available for these services for the past three years and the maximum funding level for these services for 2011-12.
	
		
			  Financial year  Funding levels (£) 
			 2008-09 1,271,948 
			 2009-10 1,291,425 
			 2010-11 1,233,883 
			 2011-12 515,248 
		
	
	The maximum funding level for 2011-12 does not include funding for the provision of the Refugee Integration Employment Services in Wales or for strategic funding that will be made available to the Welsh Refugee Council.

TRANSPORT

Cycling: Greater London

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue guidance to local authorities on taking up the cycle hire scheme in operation in central London.

Norman Baker: I welcome the positive impact that the cycle hire scheme has had on journey patterns in central London and the environmental benefits that have accrued. However, I do not intend to issue guidance to local authorities. It is a matter for local authorities to decide whether to introduce a cycle hire scheme in their local area taking into account issues such as their current levels of cycling, cycling infrastructure, current patterns of public transport use and other factors.

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many invoices his Department processed in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: During the last 12 months (December 2009-November 2010) the Department for Transport and its agencies processed 227,462 invoices. This information, together with further details, is available on the DFT website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/procurement/dft/promptpaymentstats
	The details are set out beneath the 30 working days chart.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's annual budget for conferences was at  (a) 7 May 2010 and  (b) 7 December 2010.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not have a specific budget for conferences.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid the Central Office of Information (a) £113,724.72 on 10 June 2010, (b) £299,574.96 on 14 June 2010 and (c) £127,416.44 on 17 June 2010.

Norman Baker: The purpose of the expenditure in all three cases was publicity to raise public awareness and encourage behaviours to improve road safety and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain.
	The expenditure is identified as "Publicity" in the monthly spend spreadsheet available on the Department's website.

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many agency staff his Department and its non-departmental public bodies employ at each pay grade.

Norman Baker: The number of agency staff currently employed in each pay grade is:
	
		
			 Non-departmental public bodies 
			  Grade equivalent  Pay band  DFT inc. agencies  Renewable Fuels Agency  Northern Lighthouse Board  Trinity Lighthouse Service  High Speed Two Ltd  Traffic Commissioners and Deputies 
			 AA PB1 36 0 0 0 <5 0 
			 AO PB2 44 0 <5 <5 5 7 
			 EO PB3 6 <5 0 0 <5 0 
			 HEO PB4 8 <5 <5 0 0 0 
			 SEO PB5 <5 0 0 0 <5 0 
			 G7 PB6 13 0 0 0 <5 0 
			 G6 PB7 5 0 0 0 <5 0 
			 SCS SCS 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Non-departmental public bodies who do not currently employ agency staff are:
	British Transport Police Authority
	Cycling England
	Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee
	Directly Operated Railways Ltd.
	Passenger Focus
	Railway Heritage Committee.

Departmental NDPBs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the expenditure on redundancy costs likely to be incurred by each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies in  (a) 2010-11,  (b) 2011-12,  (c) 2012-13 and  (d) the spending review period.

Norman Baker: Redundancy costs at each of the Department for Transport's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be dependent on the precise nature, extent and timing of future changes. We have set out our proposed reforms to a number of DfT NDPBs and other public bodies, including those named in Schedules 1 to 5 of the Public Bodies Bill, but are not yet in a position to provide robust information on the likely redundancy costs. We would expect to make this information available in due course.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Norman Baker: The amount the Department for Transport spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Organisation  (a) 2008-09  (b) 2009-10 
			 DFT(c) 165,583 159,631 
			 DSA 2,132,383 1,910,822 
			 DVLA 239,483 113,853 
			 GCDA 0.00 0.00 
			 HA 803,141 764,607 
			 MCA 326,281 299,196 
			 VOSA 2,023,000 1,687,000 
			 VCA 4,137 5,574 
			  Key: DFT(c)-Department for Transport (Centre) DSA-Driving Standards Agency DVLA-Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Agency GCDA-Government Car and Despatch Agency HA-Highways Agency MCA-Maritime and Coastguard Agency VCA-Vehicle Certification Agency VOSA-Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Swansea

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact assessment his Department has conducted of the effects on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea of the comprehensive spending review outcomes; what assessment he has made of the effects of the outcomes of the Review on the number of people employed by the Agency in Swansea; what restructuring of DVLA he expects to take place as a consequence of implementation of the review outcomes; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), like all areas of the Department for Transport, will need to make savings as part of the comprehensive spending review. The DVLA has a good record of delivering efficiency savings and already has plans in place to continue this work. However, it is too early to say what impact these savings will have on the structure of the DVLA or the number of people which it employs.

Electric Vehicles: Retail Trade

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with distribution network operators on the provision of electricity to retail outlets providing charging points for electric cars.

Norman Baker: Officials from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles have met with distribution network operators (DNOs) as part of the Plugged-In Places scheme and will continue to do so as the Government develops their strategy for the installation of electric vehicle infrastructure. The Plugged-In Places scheme offers match-funding to support the cost of installing a critical mass of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in lead places across the UK; at home, at work, in public areas (such as car parks or on street) and at retail sites.

Fuels: Official Cars

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on each type of fuel used by ministerial cars in each year since 2005.

Michael Penning: The information about expenditure on different types of fuel used by ministerial cars since 2005 is not available. The Government Car and Despatch Agency only holds data for the entire government fleet that it operates.

Marine Salvage Tugs: Public Expenditure

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department conducted any environmental risk assessment prior to the decision announced as part of the comprehensive spending review to end funding for marine salvage tugs.

Michael Penning: holding answer 9 December 2010
	 The decision to withdraw public funding for the provision of emergency towing vessels (ETVs) was informed by a series of marine assessments, arising from a number of work streams which address a range of wider marine environmental issues.

Official Cars: Carbon Emissions

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the mileage of ministerial cars was in each year since 2005; and what estimate he has made of the carbon footprint of journeys made by ministerial cars in each such year.

Michael Penning: The information requested on the mileage and carbon footprint of journeys made by ministerial cars since 2005 is not available. The Government Car and Despatch Agency only holds data about the entire car fleet that it operates.

Public Transport

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of persons who habitually travelled to a place of work in  (a) England,  (b) the East Midlands and  (c) Leicestershire by (i) train, (ii) car and (iii) bus in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: The requested statistics for England and the East Midlands are shown in the table. These are estimates taken from the Labour Force Survey, which includes questions on mode of travel to work during a three-month period (October to December) in each year.
	Figures for Leicestershire are not available as the survey sample size is not large enough to provide reliable estimates for this area.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   October to December 
			  Area/Mode of travel  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  England  
			 Train(1) 678 970 1,072 1,084 1,040 
			 Car(2) 10,433 14,605 14,518 14,281 13,998 
			 Bus/coach(3) 1,104 1,562 1,526 1,477 1,331 
			   
			  East Midlands  
			 Train(1) (4)- 11 12 13 13 
			 Car(2) 929 1,317 1,321 1,341 1,279 
			 Bus/coach(3) 60 99 120 97 97 
			 (1) Includes railway trains but excludes underground train and light railway or tram.  (2 )Includes car, van, minibus and works van.  (3) Includes bus, coach and private bus.  (4 )Data are not shown due to the estimate falling below the LFS minimum threshold of 10 thousand.   Source: ONS  Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Public Transport: Fares

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the recognition as a user group of reduced fare users in consultations on the future of public transport services.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to her on 9 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 404-05W.

Roads: Snow and Ice

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Highways Agency plans to import salt from overseas to meet winter demands for road salt; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 3 December 2010
	As a result of the Independent Winter Resilience review led by David Quarmby, which delivered its final report in October 2010, the Highways Agency is importing a national reserve of 250,000 tonnes of salt. In addition, following its own internal review, the Highways Agency is importing a reserve of a further 60,000 tonnes of salt, over and above its planned operational requirements for its own purposes.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on winter resilience preparations; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport discuss a wide range of transport issues with local authorities, including winter resilience preparations.
	The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Hammond) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Pickles) wrote on 12 November to the leaders of all English local authorities. This letter advised on the measures the Government have taken to implement the recommendations following David Quarmby's independent review on Winter Resilience, published in October 2010. The letter also drew attention to the recommendations in the review panel's report which were addressed to local authorities.
	A representative of the Local Government Association attended the inter-ministerial meeting on winter response held at the Cabinet Office on 3 December.
	Given that much of the country is being hit unusually early this winter by severe weather, the Secretary of State for Transport has asked David Quarmby to take the opportunity to conduct an urgent audit of highway authorities' and transport operators' recent performance in England, their progress in implementing his recommendations and any further steps that need to be taken.

Roads: Snow and Ice

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will estimate the amount and proportion of  (a) salt,  (b) grit and  (c) potash the Highways Agency will procure from (i) British and (ii) overseas suppliers in 2010-11;
	(2)  if he will estimate the proportion of the Highway Agency's budget that will be spent procuring  (a) salt,  (b) grit and  (c) potash from (i) British and (ii) overseas suppliers in 2010-11.

Michael Penning: holding answer 6 December 2010
	Grit and potash are not used for routine winter service on Highways Agency roads.
	It is not possible for the Highways Agency to estimate the amount and proportion of salt to be procured from British and overseas suppliers in 2010-11 or the proportion of its budget that will be spent on procuring salt.
	The Highways Agency's contracted service providers are responsible for the delivery of the winter service, including the procurement of road salt.
	The delivery of winter service is paid for within lump sum payments covering a range of defined activities. The amount spent on the purchase of road salt is not readily discernible from the service delivery lump sum payments and cannot therefore be provided.
	In addition to the provision of routine winter services, the Highways Agency has been tasked with a strategic stockpile to provide additional resilience for local authorities. The Government anticipates that the full cost of procuring the strategic stockpile will be recovered from those local authorities which use it.

Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last published a Welsh language scheme in accordance with the provisions of the Welsh Language Act 1993; and at which web addresses these can be accessed in  (a) Welsh and  (b) English.

Norman Baker: A Welsh language scheme was last published by the Department for Transport in 2004, and is maintained as a live document.
	The Scheme is available on the corporate website in Welsh at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/foi/dftps/cynlluniaithgymraegdft
	and in English at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/foi/dftps/dftwelshlanguagescheme
	Copies of the scheme, in both languages, have been placed in the House Libraries.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Public Transport

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what dates since his appointment he has in the course of his official duties  (a) taken a scheduled bus service,  (b) travelled on the London underground,  (c) travelled on a scheduled tram service and  (d) cycled.

Nicholas Clegg: I travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements, including by public transport. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel as set out in the Ministerial Code.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Addison Lee

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether  (a) his Department and  (b) the public bodies for which it is responsible contract services from Addison Lee.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions entered into a contract with Addison Lee plc on 1 May 2010 for a period of two years, for the provision of a Taxi Sourcing, Booking, Delivery and Management service.
	The contract is for the provision of vehicles for the transportation of staff for business purposes only, for journeys originating within the M25 (and extending out to local airports).

Employment Schemes

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects his Department's Work Programme to begin; and when he expects its predecessor programmes to close.

Chris Grayling: We want to ensure that as many people benefit from the Work Programme as soon as possible, and will launch the Work Programme as soon as providers are ready to start delivery in each contract package area. We aim to have the new Work Programme in place nationally by the summer of 2011.
	We are determined to ensure that there is continuity of provision, and that the transition to the Work Programme does not leave any customer unsupported. Therefore, new deal and employment zone contracts will be extended until June 2011, ensuring that customers referred to these programmes in March will be supported until the summer, when the Work Programme will be rolled out.
	Before their referral to the Work Programme, customers will have access to support delivered through Jobcentre Plus, including access to work experience, help to volunteer or take advantage of peer-to-peer support, as well as help with basic skills or jobsearch techniques and access to the Jobcentre Plus flexible fund.

Future Jobs Fund

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people have been employed through the Future Jobs Fund in each region in each month of the fund's operation; and how much has been spent under the fund in each region.

Chris Grayling: We have placed the number of young people that have been employed by the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) in each region in each month of the fund's operation in the Library. This information has been compiled from the Official Statistics up to July 2010.
	Annex A provides the overall total spend per region up to 18 November 2010. This information has been taken from the FJF Combined and Monitoring Claim Form (CMCF) process which is FJF expenditure that is claimed by lead accountable bodies (LABs) via the monthly claims process.

Jobcentre Plus: Advisory Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make funding available to jobcentres to take on staff to advise incapacity benefit claimants on finding work.

Chris Grayling: Funding already exists through the Pathways to Work programme to help incapacity benefit customers find work.
	The Government have announced they will be replacing many of the existing back to work programmes with the Work Programme. This is expected to be in place nationally by the summer of 2011. Incapacity benefit customers will be able to access the Work Programme, if, following reassessment for employment and support allowance (ESA), they go on to claim ESA or jobseeker's allowance.
	More personalised Jobcentre Plus support will also be available to all customers in receipt of working age benefits. Incapacity benefit customers may volunteer to access this support.

Jobcentre Plus: Buildings

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2010,  Official Report, column 165W, on Jobcentre Plus: buildings, what the average rent per square metre is for Jobcentre Plus premises in London.

Chris Grayling: The average rent per square metre for Jobcentre Plus premises in London is £140.

Maternity Payments: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Sure Start maternity grants were made to mothers resident in Coventry for a second or subsequent child in 2009-10.

Steve Webb: A total of 274,000 Sure Start maternity grants were awarded in Great Britain in 2009-10. The exact number of awards for a second or subsequent maternity is not available, but is estimated to be 52% of all awards, around 143,000.
	The number of awards made in 2009-10 is available by Government office region or Jobcentre Plus social fund budget area only, not by local authority.
	 Notes:
	1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have management information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, the total given does not include awards processed clerically which had not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System by the end of 2009-10.
	2. Both numbers have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
	 Sources:
	Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System (for total number of awards for Great Britain).
	The estimate of 52% was obtained by analysing families in Great Britain with a child (or children) aged under one from the Department for Work and Pensions Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiries for August 2009. (This was considered the most appropriate available data at the time the analysis was done.)

Members: Correspondence

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to reply to question 19837 on benefit claims, tabled on 24 November 2010 for ordinary written answer.

Chris Grayling: I replied to the hon. Member's question on 8 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 276-77W.

Pensioners: Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners aged  (a) between 60 and 65,  (b) between 65 and 70,  (c) between 70 and 75,  (d) between 75 and 80 and  (e) over 80 years old were living in poverty in 1997.

Steve Webb: Estimates of pensioner poverty are published in the Households Below Average Incomes series. The most commonly used measure of pensioner poverty relates to those people with incomes below 60% of contemporary median income, after housing costs. This is often referred to as relative poverty.
	The Households Below Average Income publication uses Family Resources Survey data. Data for Northern Ireland has been collected only since 2002-03. Estimates of poverty for 2001-02 and earlier are for Great Britain only, but from 2002-03 are for United Kingdom. The percentage of pensioners in relative poverty in Great Britain in 1997-98, split by age group, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Age group  Percentage with income below 60% of contemporary median after housing costs( 1) 
			 60-64 20 
			 65-69 22 
			 70-74 30 
			 75-79 37 
			 80 and above 37 
			 All pensioners 29 
			 (1 )Relative poverty.   Notes:  1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey.  2. The estimates presented here are Great Britain only, as Northern Ireland data was not collected until 2002-03. 3. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.  4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication "Households Below Average Income" (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or "equivalised") for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.  5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) modified equivalisation factors.  6. Proportions of pensioners in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria he plans to use to determine whether benefit claimants have deliberately not informed the relevant agency of a change in their circumstances.

Chris Grayling: Where a customer deliberately does not inform the Department of a reportable change in circumstance this would constitute benefit fraud. The Fraud Investigation Service investigates cases thoroughly, and an admission of fraud or proof beyond reasonable doubt are the criteria used to determine whether fraud has been committed.
	The Department takes fraud very seriously and has recently published a new joint strategy with HMRC for tackling welfare fraud and error. This sets out a strong sanctions regime to punish those who are caught of committing benefit fraud and includes a new civil penalty for genuine mistakes.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of savings which will accrue to his Department as a result of the decision to suspend work-focused health-related assessments.

Chris Grayling: It is estimated that the suspension of work focused health-related assessments (WFHRAs) will save the Department around £5 million per year.
	Our decision to suspend work focused health-related assessments was based on feedback from customers and staff which indicated that it was not providing valuable support. The suspension of work focused health-related assessments will improve the Department's capacity to focus on, and cope with, the reassessment of existing incapacity benefits customers, which began in Aberdeen and Burnley in October.
	Although they do not currently attend work focused health-related assessments at the beginning of their claim, individuals in the Work Related Activity Group meet regularly with their personal advisers within Jobcentre Plus or Provider-led Pathways to Work. Personal advisers help customers to focus on what they can do to get a job, taking any medical condition into account.
	By the summer of 2011, we will introduce the Work Programme which will give providers greater freedom to tailor the right support to the individual needs of each customer. Providers will be best placed to assess a customer's needs and abilities, in the context of the support that is available.

Unemployed People: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the maximum length of time is that a claimant of jobseeker's allowance may attend a training course while retaining their benefit; and what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of this period.

Chris Grayling: Jobseeker's allowance is designed to support people while they are unemployed and looking for work. To be eligible, jobseekers must therefore be available for and actively seeking employment. Unless specific exemptions apply, they must be willing and able to take up full-time work immediately.
	Jobseekers can however undertake part-time education or training at any point in their claim and continue to receive jobseeker's allowance as long as they continue to meet the basic conditions of entitlement.
	Jobseeker's allowance claimants may also undertake full-time training if this is needed in order to gain the necessary skills to enhance employment prospects. While undertaking two weeks of work-related training within any 12 month period claimants can remain on jobseeker's allowance. This is agreed by the adviser and it can be combined with part-time learning to give a longer period of support.
	Within limits, jobseekers may also undertake full-time training for longer than two weeks where it is deemed appropriate in order to help towards a move into employment. Currently, jobseekers who undertake full-time training in excess of two weeks are transferred to a separate training allowance. Full-time training opportunities for jobseekers are ideally no more than eight weeks long as short, intensive periods of work-focused training better achieves the purpose of the jobseeker's allowance interventions regime of helping people find employment as quickly as possible. Those with basic skills needs (for example literacy and numeracy) may be able to remain on full-time training for 15 weeks or longer.
	The current approach maintains a balance between enabling unemployed people to provide access to training while keeping claimants close to the labour market. Where there are identified skills barriers to work they can be tackled through structured provision.
	From summer 2011 we will also be launching nationwide the Work Programme, which will provide personalised and individual services to claimants to support them into work. Work Programme providers will be free to design support according to the needs of the individuals referred to them; this may include training courses which the claimant can undertake while still retaining their benefit.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances recipients of universal credit will be expected to identify  (a) administrative errors in their payments and  (b) errors in real-time earnings data supplied by employers.

Chris Grayling: As under the current system, we will expect all customers to report to us if they become aware that any of their payments are incorrect. However, with the availability of real time information about their earnings, the potential for errors and overpayments will be dramatically reduced as people will not have to report changes in earnings.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to provide for  (a) the exercise of discretion and  (b) a de minimis level in respect of any overpayment of tax credits where the claimant has failed to take reasonable care before the proposed £50 civil penalty is imposed.

Chris Grayling: On 18 October the Government published their new strategy, "Tackling fraud and error in the benefit and tax credits systems". The strategy announced the introduction of a new £50 civil penalty for those individuals who fail to take reasonable care of their claim.
	The civil penalty will apply to customer error and not fraud. Customer error applies in cases where there is no fraudulent intent on behalf of the customer and a change in circumstance goes unreported as a genuine mistake. Where a customer deliberately does not inform the Department of a reportable change in circumstance this constitutes benefit fraud. The Fraud Investigation Service investigate such cases thoroughly, and an admission of fraud or proof beyond reasonable doubt are the criteria used to determine whether fraud has been committed.
	This new penalty will not apply to tax credits as the Tax Credits Act already includes a civil penalty. For Social Security benefits, it is too early to confirm the criteria that will be used when considering the penalty such as  (a) the exercise of discretion and  (b) a de minimis level. However, it is intended that the penalty will deter individuals from negligent behaviour in the future and increase their personal responsibility for keeping claims correct.
	There will be a clear appeals process in place where individuals can appeal against the overpayment decision (as currently exists) and also against the decision to instigate the penalty.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Government Hospitality: Wines

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many bottles of wine from the Government wine cellar have been served at Government functions since 1 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of serving such wines.

Henry Bellingham: Between 1 November and 13 December 2010 Government Hospitality used 494 bottles of wine at 23 Government functions, for approximately 1,376 guests. The functions were a combination of receptions, lunches and dinners. Government Hospitality estimates that the total purchase cost of these wines amounted to £4,735, an average of less than £10 per bottle.

Liu Xiaobo

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of the People's Republic of China on the release of Liu Xiaobo.

Jeremy Browne: In a statement to mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2010, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary sent a message of support to human rights defenders around the world. Highlighting the important work of human rights defenders, the Foreign Secretary said,
	"We remember in particular Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but is imprisoned in China, and we call again for his release".
	Our Ministers have consistently raised the case of Liu Xiaobo in their engagement with China. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the case during his visit to China in July this year. We will continue to urge the Chinese Government to release Mr Liu.

Piracy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on rules of engagement in counter-piracy operations.

Nick Harvey: I have been asked to reply.
	As a participant in the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, the UK has discussions with partners on the legal questions and concerns affecting the international response to Somali piracy. These have included the appropriate use of force in counter piracy operations, although rules of engagement themselves are not discussed.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had no recent discussions with its international counterparts on the rules of engagement in counter-piracy operations because this is primarily a military matter. Therefore the matter is one which the Ministry of Defence leads on rather than the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The UK operates with a number of international partners on counter-piracy operations including the European Union's Operation Atalanta, NATO's Operation Ocean Shield and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and operational tactics are discussed regularly as part of this. Our rules of engagement are shared with our coalition partners as necessary to improve international co-ordination.

South America: Corruption

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of levels of corruption in  (a) Argentina and  (b) Venezuela.

Jeremy Browne: According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index 2010, Venezuela ranks 164th and Argentina 105th out of 178 countries.
	In Argentina, the Government have taken measures in recent years to address the issue, for example through the reform of the process for nominating Supreme Court judges. A Bill on access to information is also being considered by Congress.
	The Venezuelan Government have publicly recognised corruption as an issue requiring attention. The creation of a new national police force is an important part of an attempt to address the issue and the UK is working with the authorities on police reform issues.
	Our embassies monitor corruption levels and offer support to any British individual, company or organisation which may be affected by corruption.

China: Africa

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the extent of deforestation on Chinese-owned land in Africa used for the development of palm oil plantations.

Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
	Defra and the Department for International Development are working in partnership with China on a project on the international palm oil industry. This involves outlining the business case for sustainable sourcing, including on investments abroad. The project will conclude in March 2011 with a report and policy options, which we will then discuss with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
	With regards to our consumption in the UK, the Secretary of State and I announced on 13 July 2010 that Defra has commissioned a project to map UK palm oil supply chains (including those specific to government procurement), to determine how much we use (including future trends) and in what products. It will identify existing company commitments to sourcing sustainable palm oil and the implications for the sustainability of palm oil consumed in the UK, as well as considering options for encouraging increased sustainable sourcing. The project has involved participation from international businesses, NGOs and other Governments, and will report in February 2011.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Land

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many disputes were heard by each agricultural land tribunal in each of the last 10 years.

James Paice: The number of cases heard by each agricultural land tribunal from 2002 until 2009 inclusive are set out in the following table. We do not have details for the two years previous to that.
	
		
			   South Western  Eastern  South Eastern  Midlands  Yorks & Humber  Northern  Western 
			 2002 13 4 4 (1)11 (1)7 (1)7 (1)15 
			 2003 10 4 1 (1)8 (1)7 (1)7 (1)16 
			 2004 6 17 6 14 13 7 25 
			 2005 7 7 10 7 12 3 12 
			 2006 9 8 7 6 13 5 16 
			 2007 2 11 2 (1)2 (1)4 (1)0 (1)9 
			 2008 3 6 3 10 4 4 5 
			 2009 10 2 6 5 3 0 7 
			 (1 )Indicates that figures are incomplete as a full set of records are unavailable for these areas within the year shown.

Agriculture: Weather

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of recent severe weather on farmers; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We have maintained close contact with farming organisations throughout the recent severe weather conditions. This has allowed us to support farmers in responding to a range of issues, including relaxing drivers' hours for hauliers supplying feed to farms so that animal welfare is not compromised; relaxing the rules on supplementary feeding to help livestock farmers who are in agri-environment schemes; and monitoring the position on milk collections.
	DEFRA and Animal Health have published advice for farmers on their websites on what they should do to protect the welfare of their animals. DEFRA remains in close touch with the industry and will continue to look at whether there are additional, specific measures that need to be put in place to ease problems.
	Farmers in many areas have made a significant contribution to helping their local communities cope with the extreme circumstances.

Birds of Prey

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the merits of taking steps to reduce the number of birds of prey in the countryside.

Richard Benyon: Many bird of prey populations in the UK have recovered in the latter part of the 20th century following severe declines, and in some cases national or regional extinctions. These declines were due to the impacts of illegal persecution and secondary poisoning by pesticides used in agriculture.
	The interaction between birds of prey and various countryside interests (in particular, lowland game rearing, pigeon racing and driven grouse shooting) have been the subject of considerable research involving stakeholder organisations and other interested parties. These studies have demonstrated that a wide range of practical management techniques are available to reduce or eliminate these conflicts with birds of prey. There are no current plans to assess the merits of reducing bird of prey populations.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's procedure is for blood testing of camelids suspected of having TB; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: holding answer 13 December 2010
	Because of the poor sensitivity of the tuberculin skin test in South American camelids (llamas, alpacas, etc.), voluntary blood testing for TB can be offered to herd owners. This is currently at the Government's expense and subject to a veterinary risk assessment by Animal Health (AH). Although only optional for herd owners as it is not yet fully validated in camelids, blood testing is often recommended in order to maximise the chances of detecting all infected animals that may remain in these herds and thus speed up the resolution of the TB outbreak.
	The case veterinary officer will discuss the TB testing options and implications with the affected herd owner. Herd owners must then signify their intention to co-operate with the TB testing regime and release any animals testing positive by signing a standard letter of consent. If the owner agrees to supplement the skin test with blood testing, AH will take blood samples from all the potentially exposed animals remaining in the herd. This will normally take place 10 to 30 days after a skin test.
	Blood testing of camelids is currently undergoing full validation at Veterinary Laboratories Agency as part of a project largely funded by the British Alpaca Society and British Camelids Ltd. It is hoped that a suite of validated blood tests for camelids will be available by the end of 2011.

Compost: Mushrooms

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on odour emissions from mushroom composting.

Richard Benyon: There have been no ministerial discussions with EU counterparts on odour emissions from mushroom composting. However, officials have conducted investigations with various sources in different member states.
	I understand that some local authorities, who are responsible for regulating mushroom composting operations, have also made inquiries abroad.

Dairy Farming

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with representatives of farm businesses on the likely environmental impact of the introduction of individual dairy and beef units of up to 3,000 cattle.

James Paice: I cannot comment about individual units or the impacts of their introduction.
	However, when I have held my regular discussions with representatives of farming organisations and the subject of large scale dairy farms has been raised, I have emphasised that all legislation, including animal welfare and environmental legislation, must be complied with whatever the size of unit. I have also pointed out that environmental gains may be more easily achieved on larger scale farms through spreading the cost of investment in technologies such as anaerobic digestion.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's annual budget for conferences was at  (a) 7 May 2010 and  (b) 7 December 2010.

Richard Benyon: There is no specified annual budget for conferences held within the Department.
	In response to the arrangements for advertising and marketing put in place by the Government, DEFRA has established an internal panel to consider all proposals for expenditure arising from communication activity. As a result business areas are required to gain approval prior to arranging conferences and are expected to fund these using local budgets.
	Approval has been given to expenditure on seven conferences. Five were approved following reduction in costs requested by the panel. Two were accepted by the panel without change. The total cost of these seven conferences was £34,285.

Departmental NDPBs

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of the non-departmental public bodies that she plans to abolish will have their responsibilities subsumed into her Department.

Richard Benyon: In the case of some of the bodies we are abolishing, some of the work will return to the Department. However in many cases the decision to pursue abolition has been taken because there is no need for the function to continue.
	The following science and technical advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be reclassified as expert committees to the Department:
	Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances
	Advisory Committee on Packaging
	Advisory Committee on Pesticides
	Air Quality Expert Group
	Darwin Advisory Committee
	Farm Animal Welfare Council
	National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources
	Pesticide Residues Committee
	Veterinary Residues Committee
	Zoos Forum
	It is proposed that the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) will be abolished, subject to obtaining the necessary powers through the Public Bodies Bill. A new Rural Communities Policy Unit will be created in DEFRA to expand on the Government's existing rural policy work and act to as a centre of rural expertise within government. The unit will also take over from CRC responsibility for managing the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) National Rural Network.
	In addition, responsibility for delivery of parts of the socio-economic elements of the RDPE will transfer from the eight regional development agencies (which are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills) to DEFRA.
	With regard to the Sustainable Development Commission, the Secretary of State has decided to transfer specific elements of two of their functions into DEFRA. These include elements of capability building and stakeholder engagement.
	DEFRA has also announced that the Inland Waterways Advisory Council will be abolished. We have decided that an arm's length body is no longer needed to help develop policy for the inland waterways-instead, this should be the clear role of Government Departments and Ministers. Therefore, in future we will develop policy by consulting all interests directly, including making full use of the evidence which can be provided by the navigation authorities and having a closer relationship with stakeholders.

Departmental NDPBs

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff at each civil service grade employed in non-departmental bodies that will have their responsibilities subsumed into her Department will have a right of transfer into her Department; and when she expects such transfers to take place.

Richard Benyon: We are considering which functions currently in non-departmental bodies will transfer into the Department in accordance with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP). It is not therefore possible to say how many staff in total will have a right to transfer into the Department.
	However, decisions have been taken in respect of the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) as follows.
	16 CRC staff members had the right to transfer into Core DEFRA. 14 have exercised this right and two have not. The 14 CRC staff transferred into DEFRA on 1 December 2010. The grade profile of these staff is as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of CRC staff, by grade, who have transferred to the core Department 
			  Grade  Number of staff 
			 EO 2 
			 HEO 4 
			 SEO 2 
			 G7 3 
			 G6 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of CRC staff, by grade, that declined transfer to the core Department 
			  Grade  Number of staff 
			 EO 1 
			 SEO 1

Departmental NDPBs

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria she has set to determine the right of transfer into her Department of staff employed in non-departmental bodies that will have their responsibilities subsumed into her Department.

Richard Benyon: We are currently looking at the potential transfer rights of staff in accordance with Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP) in respect of the bodies which will have responsibilities returned to the Department. Except for those relating to the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) we have not yet finalised the numbers involved.
	COSOP has been followed and adhered to, in order to determine the right of CRC staff to transfer into the Department. While the commission's statutory functions are not being transferred, some of the commission's work is already replicated in the Department and those staff associated with this work therefore have the right to transfer.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Richard Benyon: The Department, including its Executive agencies, reimbursed payments to staff for mileage incurred on the grey fleet in each year as follows:
	 (a) 2008-09: £3,710,190.97
	 (b) 2009-10: £3,676,091.87.

Farmers

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made on reducing the regulatory burden on farmers.

James Paice: One of the first actions was to appoint Richard MacDonald to lead a taskforce to identify ways of reducing regulatory burdens on farmers. It recently completed a public consultation and will make recommendations to Government by April 2011. I hope it will bring about a change in culture in implementing regulations while maintaining standards.

Farmers: Poverty

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had recent discussions on the number of farmers living below the poverty line; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The most recent data on the Incomes and Compositions of Farm Households in England was published by DEFRA on 15 July 2010 and can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/published-data/farmhouseholdincome/index.htm
	Farm household income figures are derived from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) and are measured on a gross basis, before tax while assessments of households' living standards are usually made on the basis of income net of tax, based on the Family Resources Survey. Given the significant differences between the two measures of household income and the difficulty of making appropriate adjustments to place them on a comparable basis, direct comparisons are no longer made between the two surveys.
	Based on the most recent report an analysis of the incomes and assets of farm household population by quartile, according to the level of household income of the principal farmer, is shown as follows. Farm business income refers only to income deriving from the farm business and, unlike household income, excludes income from other sources. It should be noted that 46% of businesses in the bottom quartile were classified as part-time, with insufficient agricultural enterprises to keep one person occupied on a full-time basis. This compares with 28% overall.
	
		
			  Farm household income, business income, net worth, total assets and drawings by principal farmer household income quartiles, England average 2006-07 to 2008-09 
			  £ 
			  Quartile  Farm household income range  Median household income  Median farm business income  Median drawings  Median business net worth  Median business total assets 
			 Bottom <20,100 11,300 4,100 14,300 409,000 484,000 
			 Second 20,100<37,200 27,800 20,600 21,500 501,000 545,000 
			 Third 37,200<64,000 47,600 40,300 30,900 694,000 737,000 
			 Top >64,000 87,800 86,400 54,500 1,113,000 1,263,000 
			 All farms  37,200 27,900 26,200 597,000 677,000 
			  Source: Farm Business Survey (England) 
		
	
	One of DEFRA's priorities is to help to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the whole food chain, including farms, and we therefore want to see a farming sector that is competitive and profitable. That is why we are calling for ambitious reform of the common agricultural policy in order to improve the industry's ability to respond to consumer demand, introducing the grocery code adjudicator to ensure that everyone in the food supply chain gets a fair deal, and have established a task force to conduct an industry-led review of existing farm regulations. Additionally we are providing funding to increase industry competiveness through the Rural Development Programme for England, funding scientific research into increasing food production sustainably, and working with industry to improve skills across the food chain.

Floods: Steart Peninsula

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) land acquisition cost and  (b) total cost is of the project to flood Steart Peninsula; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The total indicative scheme costs for the Steart Peninsula flood management projects are estimated to be between £17-20 million. Land acquisition accounts for £5-7 million of the costs. Options for efficiencies will be considered as the proposal develops.

Floods: Steart Peninsula

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Environment Agency has undertaken its development of Steart Peninsula; what progress has been made on the project to date; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency's assessment of its proposed programme of flood and erosion risk management in the Severn Estuary to protect people and property indicates that it will lead to a loss of habitat within the Severn Estuary Special Protection Area. Where areas protected by the European Habitats Directive are lost due to flood management projects, the Government are required to secure compensatory measures to ensure the overall coherence of the network of protected sites.
	The Steart Peninsular has been identified by the Environment Agency as the most cost effective place in the Severn Estuary for this work. The agency is planning to start constructing the main works in the summer of 2012, subject to funding.

Food: Consumption

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to increase the proportion of food consumed which has been produced domestically.

James Paice: As set out in the DEFRA Business Plan, our priority is to support and develop British farming and encourage sustainable food production. We will work to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the food chain, including farms and the fish industry, to help ensure a secure, environmentally sustainable and healthy supply of food. Currently the UK produces the equivalent of 72% of indigenous foods and 59% of our food overall.
	The Fruit and Vegetables Task Force identified barriers to increasing domestic production and consumption of fruit and vegetables in England. It published a report of its proposals and produced an Action Plan outlining how to implement many of these proposals.
	We will also work to create an environment where consumers are able to make informed choice, including working with industry for better information on nutrition, food safety, provenance and quality e.g. encouraging the whole food supply chain to work together to provide clearer origin information and working with specialist producers to help them apply for registration under the protected food name schemes.

Forests: Democratic Republic of Congo

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will hold discussions with her Chinese counterpart on the effects on the primate population in the Democratic Republic of Congo of deforestation on Chinese-owned land used for the development of palm oil plantations.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA and the Department for International Development are working in partnership with China on a project on the international palm oil industry. This involves outlining the business case for sustainable sourcing, including on investments abroad. The project will conclude in March 2011 with a report and policy options, which we will then discuss with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
	With regard to our consumption in the UK, the Secretary of State and I announced on 13 July that DEFRA has commissioned a project to map UK palm oil supply chains (including those specific to government procurement), to determine how much we use (including future trends) and in what products. It will identify existing company commitments to sourcing sustainable palm oil and the implications for the sustainability of palm oil consumed in the UK, as well as considering options for encouraging increased sustainable sourcing. The project has involved participation from international businesses, NGOs and other Governments, and will report in February 2011.

Hill Farming

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of hill farmers farming in each county of England in each of the last 10 years.

James Paice: holding answer 9 December 2010
	 There is no formal definition of a hill farm, but the numbers of farm holdings by county in England from 2000-09, within both the less favoured area (LFA) classification and the severely disadvantaged areas (SDA) classification, are shown in a spreadsheet which has been placed in the House Library.
	The data are sourced from the June Survey of Agriculture farm register. A holding is designated as being in the LFA or SDA if the central grid reference for the holding falls within the boundaries of that classification, even if the whole farm is not within the LFA or SDA classification.

Otters

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the number of otters in the UK in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: National surveys of otters for England and Wales have been carried out at approximately seven year intervals since the late 1970s but the results do not represent individual otter numbers.
	The Environment Agency recently published results from the Fifth Otter Survey of England, commissioned in 2009-10. The results show an increase in sites showing signs of otter from 36.3% in 2000-02 to 58.8% in 2009-10.
	Distribution patterns suggest population densities in the south-west, parts of northern England and along the Welsh borders have reached levels comparable to before the pesticide-related decline of the 1960s-1970s. Similar recovery across the whole country is expected to take another 10-20 years.
	The Fifth Otter Survey of England is available to view on the Environment Agency website.
	The Fifth Otter Survey in Wales was carried out in 2010 and the data are still being analysed by the Environment Agency.
	This is a devolved matter and information is not held for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Port of Falmouth Development Plan

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reasons are for the time taken to consider the applications for the marine consents for the Port of Falmouth Development Plan; and when she expects to have completed the assessment of those applications.

Richard Benyon: Authority to make licensing decisions for such marine construction work has been delegated to the Marine Management Organisation. I understand a decision is expected shortly.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance her Department has provided to businesses required to register under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation since the passage of the Regulation.

James Paice: The REACH Regulation makes no provision for the Government to provide direct financial assistance to businesses required to register chemicals. European state aid and competition rules also preclude provision of direct financial assistance. However, DEFRA and the UK REACH Competent Authority Helpdesk provide free information and advice about REACH implementation to UK businesses by e-mail, telephone, and on the internet. DEFRA and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have also arranged periodic publication in HM Revenue and Custom's Employers' Bulletin of articles reminding businesses of registration duties and providing advice about best practice in preparations for registration.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the cost to businesses of applying for registration under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation.

James Paice: Since May, DEFRA has received six written or electronic representations about the costs to business of REACH registration, all from small-medium enterprises (SMEs). These ranged from concerns about the direct financial costs to concerns about potential costs caused by interruption of supplies arising from failure by suppliers to register chemicals used, or by their not having included downstream uses in chemical registrations.
	REACH places responsibility for preparations for registration, including cost sharing, firmly on industry, with no formal role given to the regulatory authorities. While this has meant that authorities have not been able to intervene directly in addressing industry concerns about REACH registration, DEFRA and the UK REACH Competent Authority (provided by the Health and Safety Executive) have provided guidance and advice on best practice. In the case of downstream users' concerns about continuity of supply, my right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and for Business, Innovation and Skills, wrote jointly in October to the relevant European Commissioners to draw attention to the issues and propose a course of action to address the concerns.
	REACH itself provides a number of measures to assist SMEs with the costs of registration, including a reduced scale of fees, with further discounts for participation in data sharing. While the Government are constrained by EU competition and state aid rules from providing direct financial assistance to companies for registration costs, the European Investment Bank is offering a loan facility to SMEs that can be used to cover REACH-related costs. Where appropriate, we have drawn attention to this facility in responses to representations from businesses.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effect on pure metal importers of the implementation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation.

James Paice: We have made no specific assessment of the effect of REACH implementation on pure metal importers, or any other sector of UK industry, although some sectors were studied in the Impact Assessment carried out while REACH was being negotiated. We are currently considering how best we can practically assess the impact of REACH on UK industry, in a way which disaggregates REACH impacts from those of other legislative regimes and wider economic developments.

Sewers

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress her Department has made on the transfer of private drains and sewers to water companies; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Between 26 August and 18 November 2010 DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government undertook a joint public consultation exercise, which included workshops, on draft regulations and proposals for schemes for the transfer of private sewers. A summary of the consultation can be viewed on DEFRA's website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/private-sewers/index.htm
	The draft regulations are currently being finalised, after which they will be presented to Parliament for approval.

Slaughterhouses

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legal requirements are placed on abattoirs and slaughterhouses with regard to the stunning of animals prior to bleeding out; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: holding answer 7 December 2010
	Slaughterhouse operators are responsible for the welfare of animals at the time of slaughter. The rules governing animal welfare at slaughter and killing are set out in the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, as amended (WASK). Under this regulation it is an offence to cause or permit an animal avoidable excitement, pain or suffering. There are also specific requirements that must be followed on handling, stunning, slaughter or killing of animals. In particular:
	anyone carrying out any of these tasks must have the knowledge and skill to do their job humanely and efficiently;
	all slaughtermen must be competent and hold a registered licence;
	in every slaughterhouse a competent person must be given authority to take action to safeguard welfare; and
	only permitted methods may be used to stun or kill animals.
	Schedule 12 of WASK sets out the detailed requirements that apply where animals are slaughtered by a religious method to meet Jewish and Muslim religious beliefs. These requirements ensure all slaughter by a religious method is undertaken in licensed slaughterhouses (approved premises), and Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency Operations Group monitor and enforce the rules set out in the Regulations daily.

Slaughterhouses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received from  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords and  (c) members of the public on the welfare of animals in slaughterhouses; what response was given in each case; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: Since 1 May 2010, DEFRA Ministers have received 141 letters from hon. Members, one from a Member of the House of Lords and 319 letters from members of the public on the welfare of animals in slaughterhouses.
	The Food Standards Agency conducted a survey of all approved slaughterhouses in May 2010 to establish whether food business operators are taking active steps to comply with legal requirements and achieve the necessary animal welfare standards. The survey also looked at whether Official Veterinarians and frontline teams are carrying out their roles effectively, with appropriate monitoring and relevant enforcement being taken in the event of food business operator non-compliance. This survey indicated standards of animal welfare met or exceeded legislative requirements in 94% of premises surveyed.

Timber: Consumption

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much coppiced sweet chestnut was used by the building trade in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009.

James Paice: We are not able to provide this information. This is because the Forestry Commission does not collect comprehensive information on the end use of home grown timber.

Waste Disposal: Motor Vehicles

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the performance against targets for  (a) reuse,  (b) recycling and  (c) recovery of vehicles under the End-of-Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulation 2005 she expects to be attributable to auto shredder residue recovered as energy from waste after 2015.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 13 December 2010
	The end-of-life vehicles (ELV) directive sets an overall 95% reuse and recovery target from 2015. Under the structure of the target, reuse and recycling activities must contribute at least 85%.
	Energy from waste does not constitute reuse or recycling. The combustion of waste can constitute a recovery operation, and so contribute to the ELV recovery target, where its principal objective is that the waste can fulfil a useful function as a means of generating energy, replacing the use of a source of primary energy.
	Technologies to treat vehicles to the required target standards continue to be developed, with scope to build on existing ELV energy recovery, such as the use of tyres removed from ELVs as a replacement fuel in cement kilns.

CABINET OFFICE

Charities: Public Expenditure

Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what effect the outcome of the comprehensive spending review had on the level of funding for charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises wishing to become local service providers.

Nick Hurd: The coalition Government has created new opportunities for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and has put forward measures to support the sector. For example the recently announced £100 million Transition Fund that will give the sector the breathing space it needs to enable it to manage the transition to a tighter funding environment and to take advantage of future opportunities presented by the Big Society.
	It is currently too early to evaluate the impact of the comprehensive spending review on voluntary and community groups; however the Cabinet Office is working closely with partners in the sector, across Government and the Third Sector Research Centre to examine the exposure of the sector to public spending reductions and mitigate potential impacts.

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Francis Maude: In the Coalition Agreement the Government made a commitment to promote small business procurement in the public sector, with an aspiration that 25% of Government contracts should be awarded to SMEs.
	On 1 November 2010 we announced a package of measures intended to make Government procurement easier for SMEs and voluntary sector organisations by simplifying the procurement process and making opportunities more accessible. These measures include the introduction of a simpler standardised pre-qualification questionnaire which is mandated across central Government from 1 December 2010; a LEAN study investigating red tape and causes of delay in the procurement process; and from March 2011 the 'Contracts Finder' system-a free facility for small businesses to find public sector procurement, and sub contracting, opportunities in a single place online and free of charge.
	We are consulting further on facilitating voluntary sector access to public procurement. Moreover the Government have today launched a forum on the No. 10 website for SMEs to give their views on public procurement from which we will be able to take further action.

Electorate

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the electorate was of each constituency in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what the electorate of each constituency was in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010 (31414).
	Figures showing the number of registered electors in each parliamentary constituency as at 1 December 2010 are not currently available. These are due to be published on 23 February 2011.
	Figures showing the number of registered electors in each parliamentary constituency as at 1 December 2009 are available on the ONS website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_other/uk-electoral-statistics-2009.xls

Government Departments: Procurement

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department takes to ensure that Government suppliers have  (a) appropriate resilience arrangements and  (b) business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements which are fit for purpose or compliant with BS 25999.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office provides model contractual documentation which is recommended for use by central Government Departments in ICT enabled services contracts. This includes a set of obligations which describe a Department's requirements for ensuring continuity of the business processes and operations in circumstances of service disruption or failure and, for restoring the services through business continuity and as necessary disaster recovery procedures.
	It also includes the requirement on the contractor to develop and maintain a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan which is designed to ensure that the arrangements are compliant with the relevant provisions of ISO/IEC17799:2000, BS15000 (or equivalent) and other relevant industry standards that apply.
	In all procurements subject to the Gateway review process Departments are required to ensure that they and their suppliers have adequate plans in place to deal with risks.

Immigration

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of immigrants to the UK in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2011,  (c) 2012,  (d) 2013,  (e) 2014 and  (f) 2015.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of immigrants to the UK in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015. (29874)
	The most recent population projections of the UK are based on the mid-year population estimates for 2008. Assumptions of future migration are made to produce population projections. The assumed net migration, given in the table below, is used in the production of the projections. The assumptions for in-migration and out-migration are by-products of this process and do not feed directly into producing projections. Long-term international migration data produced by the ONS applies the UN definition of someone who moves from their country of previous residence for a period of at least a year, irrespective of citizenship.
	Note the data presented are mid-year to mid-year and are not available by calendar year.
	
		
			  2008-based National Population Projections-assumed annual migration, UK 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14  2014-15( 1) 
			 In-migration 670,800 670,800 670,800 670,800 670,800 670,000 
			 Out-migration 465,000 470,000 475,000 480,000 485,000 490,000 
			 Net migration 205,800 200,800 195,800 190,800 185,800 180,000 
			 (1) The projections assume constant levels of annual net migration beyond 2014-15.  Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	National population projections are available from the Office for National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=8519
	The national population projections are not forecasts and do not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies, changing economic circumstances or other factors (whether in the UK or overseas) might have on demographic behaviour. They simply provide the population levels and age structure that would result if the underlying assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration were to be realised.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Armed Forces and Police

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the readiness of the Afghan National Security Forces to take control of the country's security in 2015.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 December 2010,  Official Report, column 986W, to the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy).

Air Force: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on redevelopment work at each Royal Air Force base in Scotland in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of his Department's likely expenditure on such work in each of the next five years.  [Official Report, 18 January 2011, Vol. 521, c. 8MC.]

Nick Harvey: The expenditure on redevelopment (defined as capital expenditure and minor new works) for the major RAF stations in the UK since financial year 2006-07 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure by station 
			  £ million 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 RAF Kinloss 5.3 3.9 1.9 1.8 
			 RAF Leuchars 4.7 4.3 5.6 9.4 
			 RAF Lossiemouth 5.6 1.8 4.5 6.1 
		
	
	Information prior to the financial year 2005-06 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Some of the expenditure has been split between individual financial years on an estimated basis.
	The Ministry of Defence is in the process of completing its annual planning round which will allocate future programme budgets. This is expected to conclude in early 2011.

Armed Forces: Conditions of Employment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to renew the Military Covenant.

Andrew Robathan: The independent taskforce report led by Professor Hew Strachan was published on 8 December 2010. A copy can be found in the Library of the House and we intend to take forward two recommendations immediately in advance of the Government's full response, relating to an Armed Forces Community Covenant, and a Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation scheme.
	The first reading of the Armed Forces Bill took place on 8 December 2010. Once this achieves Royal Assent my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence will be required to prepare an Armed Forces Covenant Report annually and lay it before Parliament.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to increase the standard of service accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Defence Personnel Welfare and Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 13 December 2010,  Official Report, column 656, to the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery).

Armed Forces: Investigations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigation his Department conducted into the incident on 
	(1)  30 September 2009 in Helmand province, in which a platoon from B Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles, called in an air strike; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(2)  28 May 2009 in Helmand province, in which a patrol from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Rifles, reportedly shot at a car; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(3)  19 May 2009 in Helmand province, in which Gurkhas mentoring a police unit reportedly called in a Harrier air strike after an ambush; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation;
	(4)  22 October 2008 in Helmand province, in which a soldier in a British squad mentoring the Afghan army reportedly killed a motorcyclist; when the investigation was conducted; which part of his Department conducted the investigation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the investigation.

Liam Fox: holding answer 27 October 2010
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 3 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 847-50W. A copy of my letter to him will be published in the  Official Report.

Armed Forces: National Insurance Contributions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice is provided to armed forces personnel on paying the full stamp rate for their national insurance contributions.

Andrew Robathan: Members of the armed forces are subject to UK income tax and national insurance contributions on their government salaries wherever they are serving. Briefings relating to national insurance contributions mainly occur during recruit training where trainees are given a full explanation of their pay and what type of compulsory deductions are made. We do not advise explicitly on the impact of not paying contributions throughout a working life, as in the majority of cases this will occur beyond their employment in the armed forces. However, information is available during the resettlement process for those considering self-employment and the financial considerations required.
	Service personnel about to embark on unpaid leave and/or maternity leave are advised to contact their local Department for Work and Pensions office to determine how national insurance contributions can continue.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with  (a) charities and  (b) representatives of armed forces' families on the likely effects on them of changes to pensions and benefits proposed in the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: I have had meetings with several organisations and have discussed this along with other pension related issues. We also remain in regular written contact with the Forces Pension Society and I have invited them to meet me.

Armed Forces: Training

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what means he plans to make efficiencies in military training, under his proposals in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Nick Harvey: We will enhance the training environment and use the most effective method of preparing our armed forces for the tasks we ask them to do. This will mean that some outdated training methods will be replaced by greater use of simulated training and modern training techniques.
	One specific area of work that we will be focussing on is the Defence Technical Training Change Programme (DTTCP) which, following the termination of the Defence Training Rationalisation (DTR) PFI Procurement on 19 October 2010, is a new programme that has been established to build upon the work already started under DTR. DTTCP aims to deliver efficiencies through estate rationalisation and improvements in the delivery of technical training across all three services.

Army: Training

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the role of the Army's Hybrid Foundation Training.

Peter Luff: Hybrid Foundation Training (HFT) provides the essential steps for a unit's progression onto Mission Specific Training (MST), which trains Force Elements for a named operation or specific contingency. HFT focuses individuals and units on core soldiering skills (fire and manoeuvre, all arms integration, leadership and team building), which they can build on and adapt to suit the requirements of MST. The skills obtained during HFT are vital to allow units and individuals to gain the maximum benefit from MST training and ensure that they are delivered to the start of MST with the agility and flexibility required for the current operating environment.
	HFT is constantly updated using the relevant lessons learned from operations and training.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the International Violence Against Women Champion will exercise ministerial responsibilities in his Department.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) gave her on 7 December 2010,  Official Report, column 155W.

Defence: Industry

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with representatives of the UK defence industry for the purpose of informing his Department's forthcoming Green Paper.

Peter Luff: Following the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, I held a conference on 2 November 2010 to start the process of engaging with industry on the planned Green Paper on Equipment, Support and Technology for UK Defence and Security. I chaired a meeting of the National Defence Industries Council on 22 November 2010 where the Green Paper was discussed and attended the Defence Acquisition Workshop 2010 at Shrivenham on 24 to 25 November 2010, which included discussion of a number of Green Paper themes. I have also addressed a number of other industry audiences and held a number of meetings with individual suppliers, in London and elsewhere, including small and medium sized companies.

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many invoices his Department processed in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Peter Luff: The total number of invoices paid by the Ministry of Defence in the 12 months December 2009 to November 2010 was 4,697,676.
	The figures provided represent invoices processed by the MOD Financial Management Shared Service Centre and the four MOD trading funds:
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL)
	Meteorological Office
	Defence Support Group (DSG)
	UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO).

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Peter Luff: In the defence and security sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises are often an important source of research and innovation, as well as offering adaptability and flexibility. The forthcoming Green Paper on Equipment, Support and Technology for UK Defence and Security will consider on how the Government can best encourage and enable SMEs to participate more fully in these sectors.

Departmental Film

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the production of  (a) films of speeches for use at events and  (b) other films since May 2010.

Peter Luff: Photographers are employed by the Department for a range of purposes, including capturing and editing videos. The costs associated with producing video records of speeches are not identified separately across the Department.
	Videos are made by the Ministry of Defence for internal training and information purposes. Additionally the armed forces commission films for recruiting campaigns for use across a range of external media channels, including TV, cinema and online.
	Since May 2010 the Department has spent around £850,000 producing such films, the majority of which are for recruiting and training purposes. The costs broken down by services are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Royal Navy 670,000 
			 British Army 133,000 
			 Royal Air Force 45,000

Departmental Internet

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on its website since May 2010.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence website is an important channel for communicating with the wider defence community, the general public and the worldwide internet audience. It provides a platform for MOD to respond rapidly to current issues as well as providing an authoritative source of enduring information about defence and the armed forces.
	From 1 May to 30 November 2010 the MOD spent £206,803.24 on the www.mod.uk website; where applicable, these figures include VAT. Spending falls under the following categories defined by the Cabinet Office:
	Strategy and planning
	Design and build
	Hosting and infrastructure
	Testing and evaluation.

Departmental Manpower

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed by his Department in each month since April 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the total strength of the Ministry of Defence(1) by month from April 2010 to November 2010.
	(1) Totals listed are headcount and have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		
			   Headcount 
			 April 2010 89,970 
			 May 2010 89,770 
			 June 2010 89,500 
			 July 2010 89,300 
			 August 2010 88,970 
			 September 2010 88,570 
			 October 2010 88,130 
			 November 2010 87,940 
			  Source: DASA (Quad Service) 
		
	
	There has been a freeze on external recruitment since May 2010, other than for business critical posts, such as those in direct support of operations, apprenticeships, fast stream and specialist graduates and posts paid for in full by other parties (for example United States Visiting Forces and NATO Support Facilities).

Departmental Manpower

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the change in staff numbers in his Department has been since 1 May 2010.

Peter Luff: Between May and November 2010, there was a reduction of 1,830 in the staff headcount in the Ministry of Defence.

Departmental Photography

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on photography since 1 May 2010.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence's expenditure on photography is incurred in a number of ways, including:
	Manpower costs, including travel and subsistence, for photographers employed by the MOD and the armed forces.
	Photographic equipment and software costs, including purchase and maintenance.
	Costs incurred by individual military units and establishments.
	Forensic and technical photography costs.
	Training for photographers and photo editors.
	Costs relating to the deployment of military and civilian photographers on Operations.
	Costs are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

Peter Luff: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of which leukaemias nuclear test veterans are eligible for war pensions.

Peter Luff: Awards under the war pension scheme can be made for any leukaemia (other than chronic lymphatic leukaemia) and primary polycythaemia rubra vera with clinical onset within 25 years of visiting the sites, based on presence only at the tests (i.e. exposure to service-related ionising radiation does not need to be shown).

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the use of fixed wing aircraft on operations in Afghanistan for up to five years was deemed to be the overriding factor determining the future of fixed-wing naval capability for at least the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 317-19W, to the hon. Members for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) and Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt).

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Typhoon is  (a) currently or  (b) scheduled in future to be capable of ground attack operations in Afghanistan; which aircraft will be used for ground attack operations in any theatre after the withdrawal of the Tornados from 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The majority of Typhoons and all Tornado GR4s have a precision guided ground attack capability. Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will have this capability as it enters service. Therefore post 2021 both JSF and Typhoon will be capable of ground attack operations. Ground attack support in Afghanistan is currently provided by the Tornado GR4 which will continue to provide support for the foreseeable future.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many  (a) Fleet Air Arm and  (b) Royal Air Force Harrier pilots will be required to leave the armed forces as a result of the withdrawal of the Harriers; how many Harrier pilots there were in each of the two services prior to the withdrawal of the Harriers; and what arrangements will be made for pensions for those made redundant as a consequence of that withdrawal;
	(2)  how soon after the withdrawal of the Harriers redundant Harrier pilots will be required to leave their services; whether they will be entitled to full retraining packages before leaving; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: There are currently 135 Royal Air Force and 53 Royal Navy pilots who are qualified to fly Harrier aircraft, which are due to be withdrawn from service at the end of December 2010. The number of RAF Harrier pilots who will be required to leave the Service as a result of the withdrawal of that aircraft is the focus of detailed analysis regarding the wider issue of implementing the strategic defence and security review's outcomes including manning and supporting the front-line. The number of Fleet Air Arm Harrier pilots that will be required to leave the Royal Navy is subject to ongoing work between the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to determine how best to meet the requirement to re-generate a Carrier Strike capability in 2020.
	Royal Navy Harrier pilots would not be required to leave the Naval Service before July 2012 unless they apply to leave earlier. Any pilot made redundant will receive the same standard retraining package offered to any service personnel made redundant and will qualify for graduated resettlement training. In addition, any service personnel made redundant will receive compensation in the form of a lump sum in addition to normal entitlements to pensions and retirement benefits.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has engaged independent advisers in respect of its base review.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence is now addressing the full range of issues affecting the defence estate following the Strategic Defence and Security Review. This work is being carried out by MOD civilian and service personnel across the Department under their normal responsibilities as part of the MOD's annual planning round. There are no independent advisers. We are listening to representations made by interested parties as well as consulting with other Government Departments, the devolved Administrations and local communities as appropriate.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many staff of his Department in each post at each grade are working on its base review;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's base review.

Nick Harvey: The work to address the range of issues affecting the Defence Estate following the Strategic Defence and Security Review is being carried out by Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian and service personnel across the Department. It is being undertaken under their normal responsibilities as part of the MOD's annual planning round. This means it is not possible to give a breakdown of the individual posts involved in the work, and that there are no additional costs to the public purse.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are used to determine whether to close a military base.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence keeps its estate under continual review to ensure that it is of the right size and in the right locations to support current and future defence capability. Military sites are declared surplus when no continuing defence use can be ascertained for them.
	However a site belonging to one service may close and then be re-used for another defence purpose, as happened, for instance, when RAF Innsworth near Gloucester became Imjin Barracks.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the decommissioning and clean up costs consequent on the closure of the RAF bases currently under consideration for closure.

Nick Harvey: None. We are examining the potential future defence uses for those sites which, as a result of decisions taken during the Strategic Defence and Security Review, are no longer required by the RAF. As no decisions have been taken which will necessarily result in the closure of an RAF base, the costs of remediation in preparation for disposal are not being examined at this stage.

Rescue Services

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times search and rescue helicopters based at RAF Lossiemouth have been involved in operations involving fishing vessels in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   RAF Lossiemouth call-outs to fishing vessels 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 12 
			 2007 10 
			 2008 11 
			 2009 3 
			 2010 5

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Finance

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2010,  Official Report, column 968W, on arts: finance 
	(1)  whether he raised with ministerial colleagues the likely effects on arts and culture funding of the abolition of regional development agencies before the announcement of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review;
	(2)  whether he raised with ministerial colleagues the effects on arts and culture funding of reductions to local authority grants prior to the announcement of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.

Jeremy Hunt: I regularly meet ministerial colleagues to discuss cross-departmental issues.

Arts: Finance

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding he plans to provide for his matched funding arrangements to stimulate philanthropic funding of arts organisations.

Jeremy Hunt: Of the £80 million already designated for the philanthropy match funding programme, £30 million will come from this Department, and £50 million from Arts Council England's national lottery funds.

Charitable Donations

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much of the funding to be provided for the match-funding arrangements to stimulate philanthropy he expects  (a) his Department and  (b) National Lottery funds to contribute.

Jeremy Hunt: Of the £80 million already designated for the philanthropy match funding programme, £30 million will come from my Department, and £50 million from Arts Council England's national lottery funds.

Charitable Donations

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which Department has lead responsibility for the review of Government support for philanthropy announced on 8 December 2010.

Jeremy Hunt: The Cabinet Office has lead responsibility for philanthropy across Government. The review will be supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Her Majesty's Treasury and other Departments as appropriate.

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many invoices his Department processed in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

John Penrose: The total number of invoices processed by the Department in the 12 months to November 2010 was 5,669.

Departmental Coordination

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on what dates his regular meetings with the Secretary of State for Education, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss cross-departmental issues have taken place since May 2010.

Jeremy Hunt: I met the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 14 July and on 17 November 2010; the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 15 July and 11 November 2010; and the Secretary of State for Education on 8 June, 14 July, 22 September and 25 November 2010, to discuss cross-departmental issues.

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many  (a) temporary and  (b) agency staff his Department has employed since 24 May 2010; and at what (i) grade and (ii) total cost to his Department.

John Penrose: The table sets out the number of temporary and agency staff the Department has employed since 24 May 2010 and their total costs at each grade up to end October 2010.
	
		
			  DCMS grade  Civil service equivalent grade  Number of temporary and agency staff  Cost to the Department inclusive of VAT (£) 
			 C Executive officer (EO) 3 6,550 
			 A Grade 7 1 29,536

Departmental Public Expenditure

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of the reduction in his Department's budget that will be achieved through efficiency savings over the period of the comprehensive spending review.

John Penrose: No direct estimate of the proportion attributable to efficiency savings has been made; however, the majority of the reduction to the Department's budget will be delivered through a combination of efficiency savings and ending lower priority work.

Hat Factory: Finance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will undertake an economic impact assessment in respect of proposed reductions in funding to the Hat Factory arts venue in Luton; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: There are no plans for the Department to conduct economic impact assessments into funding decisions for individual arts venues made by other organisations. In most cases, public funding for these venues comes through local authorities and through Arts Council England, operating at arm's length from government.

Listed Buildings: Double Glazing

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will assess the merits of relaxing restrictions on replacing single glazing in listed buildings with slim double or triple-glazed panes.

John Penrose: English Heritage is responsible for assessing and advising the Department on this matter.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of English Heritage to write direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Museums

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding he plans to make available to the  (a) museum development work,  (b) library development work and  (c) statutory property functions of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council from 2012-13 to 2014-15.

Edward Vaizey: The total funding that will be made available to Arts Council England for museum development work, library development work and statutory cultural property functions will be £46.56 million in 2012-13; £45.99 million in 2013-14 and £45.96 million in 2014-15. It will be up to Arts Council England to determine how to allocate this funding, though cuts to the Renaissance in the Regions programme will be limited to 15%.

Museums

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to meet the responsibilities of archives after the ending of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council; and whether such responsibilities are to be transferred to another body.

Edward Vaizey: The future of archives work currently undertaken by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is still being considered. We expect to be able to make an announcement shortly.

Museums

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what funding  (a) was allocated to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in 2010-11 and  (b) will be so allocated in 2011-12; and whether such funding will be allocated to Arts Council England should the MLA's functions be transferred to that body prior to March 2012.

Edward Vaizey: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) received £60.71 million in 2010-11, including core, Renaissance and strategic commissioning funding. The MLA has received an indicative allocation of £51.97 million in 2011-12 for core and Renaissance funding. It is expected that funding will be transferred to Arts Council England at the appropriate time during 2011-12 once a transition timetable has been agreed.

Museums

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether museums which do not have national status and are unable to secure sponsorship other than from central Government will continue to receive funding from the public purse.

Jeremy Hunt: As with every other arm's length body, the non-national museums have been allocated funding until 2014-15, which will be transferred with them to any new sponsors. If no new sponsorship arrangements can be found for the non-national museums, this Department will consider the needs of these museums along with its other sponsored bodies in the next spending review period.

Museums: Closures

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many museums closed in  (a) England and  (b) Sussex in each year since 2005.

Edward Vaizey: Since the start of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council Renaissance programme in 2002, none of the Regional Hub Museum Services has closed. Information on closures of independent, local authority or charitably funded museums is not held centrally.

Olympic Delivery Authority: VAT

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his most recent estimate is of the effect of the increase in the standard rate of value added tax on the budget of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Hugh Robertson: The increase in value added tax of 2.5% from 4 January 2011 has a forecast impact of £45.6 million over the life of the programme. This cost has been provided for in the 2010 spending review settlement. Savings elsewhere in the Olympic budget mean that the overall cost remains within the £9.3 billion public sector funding package.

Public Libraries

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how he plans to meet his statutory duty to oversee and promote the public library service after the end of  (a) the Advisory Council on Libraries and  (b) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Edward Vaizey: Officials will work with relevant bodies to ensure appropriate intelligence about the library sector is captured, and that mechanisms are in place to communicate it to this Department. Officials can then advise the Secretary of State on the use of his statutory powers in the absence of the Advisory Council on Libraries and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Sports: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase adult participation in sport in Birmingham before the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England is the arm's length body with responsibility for community sport. Their aim is to increase and sustain levels of participation in sport and develop talent to drive standards of elite performance throughout the country.
	National governing bodies of sport (NGBs) are responsible for the strategy, delivering through their networks of community clubs, coaches and volunteers. Sport England is investing £480 million through 46 governing bodies over the next four years and has agreed 'grow', 'sustain' and ''excel' targets with each one. Each sport has developed a whole sport plan to achieve these targets. Since 2006, Sport England has invested a total of £3,780,824 into the Birmingham Ladywood constituency.
	Additionally, the £135 million Mass Participation Olympic Legacy-Places People Play-was launched in November and is available to residents of Birmingham. This programme will be funded by lottery money and has been developed in partnership with Sport England, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA).

Welsh Language Schemes

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when his Department last published a Welsh language scheme in accordance with the provisions of the Welsh Language Act 1993; and at which web addresses such schemes can be accessed in  (a) Welsh and  (b) English.

John Penrose: The Department published a Welsh language scheme in accordance with the provisions of the Welsh Language Act in June 2007.
	The scheme can be accessed in Welsh and English at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
	plus
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3602.aspx
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
	plus
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3602.aspx

Youth Sports: Finance

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2010,  Official Report, column 971W, on youth sports: finance, whether he raised with ministerial colleagues the issue of funding for school sports partnerships before the announcement of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.

Jeremy Hunt: I regularly meet ministerial colleagues to discuss cross-departmental issues.

TREASURY

Addison Lee

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies contract services from Addison Lee private hire taxi company.

David Gauke: HM Treasury, the Debt Management Office and the Asset Protection Agency have a contract with Addison Lee for the provision of taxi and courier services.
	The Royal Mint Advisory Committee does not contract services from Addison Lee.

Air Passenger Duty

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects on regional airports of increases in air passenger duty;
	(2)  what proportion of air passenger duty revenues was raised from flights originating in Northern Ireland in each year since the introduction of the duty;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on air passenger duty and its effects on Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: The existing rates of air passenger duty (APD) were set and legislated for by the previous Government. An impact assessment was published at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/apd-reform-ia.pdf.
	Data are not available on APD paid by origin of passengers or flights. HMRC only collects data on APD-chargeable passengers, split into the four destination bands.
	The June Budget announced that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Bank Notes: Costs

Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse of printing banknotes was in the last three years for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: This information is publicly available in the Bank of England's Annual Report and Accounts:
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/annualreport/index.htm

Bureaux de Change: Regulation

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the regulation of currency exchange services.

Mark Hoban: Retail currency exchange is subject to the Price Indications (Bureaux de Change) (No 2) Regulations 1992, and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
	The Government keeps the extent of the regulation of currency exchange under review.

Cheques

Grahame Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the use of cheques issued by UK banks as a method of payment; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what arrangements he plans to put in place to mitigate the adverse effects on small businesses and individuals arising from the phasing out of cheques;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the UK Payments Council on alternative methods of payment to replace cheques.

Mark Hoban: I have written to every Member of the House to set out the Government's position on cheques.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Child Benefit: Belfast

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households which will be affected by the removal of child benefit from higher-rate tax payers in Belfast East constituency; and how many of those households are single parent households.

David Gauke: Information on household income and composition for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Child Care Tax Credit

Anne Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the average weekly change in entitlement to  (a) families with one child and  (b) families with two or more children as a result of the announced changes to the child care element of working tax credits.

David Gauke: The change in support from the child care element to cover 70% of costs is estimated to reduce the entitlement of families with one child by £8.50 a week, and for families with two or more children by £10.50 a week.

Departmental Grants

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what grants have been awarded by his Department in 2010-11 to date; what grants he plans to award in each of the next two years; what the monetary value is of each such grant; and to which organisations such grants are to be made;
	(2)  what the monetary value was of grants awarded by his Department in 2009-10; and how much he plans to award in such grants in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

Justine Greening: holding answer 25 November 2010
	The Treasury did not award any grants in 2009-10 and has no plans to do so in 2010-11. On the Department's current plans, a single grant of £1,750,000 is to be awarded in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons his Department has revised its estimate of the savings arising from the removal of the mobility component of disability living allowance for claimants in residential care from £135 million to £160 million in 2014-15.

Maria Miller: I have been asked to reply.
	The savings arising from this measure have been updated in line with additional information on the status of care home residents who entered residential care before 1998. Prior to this date there was no procedural requirement to record entry or exit dates into residential care. Additional estimates have been produced to ensure increased accuracy.

EU Budget

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net financial cost to the public purse was of the UK's membership of the EU in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The UK's net contributions to the EU Budget over the period 2005-06 to 2009-10 were:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 2005-06 4.4 
			 2006-07 3.5 
			 2007-08 4.2 
			 2008-09 3.0 
			 2009-10 4.7

Financial Services: Regulation

Naomi Long: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what benefits he expects to accrue to  (a) small payments institutions and  (b) their customers as a result of registration of such institutions within the Financial Services Authority.

Mark Hoban: The registration of small payments institutions is a requirement of the payment services directive. Registration is a proportionate way to identify and monitor all persons providing remittance services without imposing undue costs on small businesses.
	The benefits to customers of registration are that firms will have to provide them with information in advance, before they commit to using their services, for example on costs and charges, cancellation rights and other essential information.

Gift Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of Gift Aid repayments made to charities in each region in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not separately identify Gift Aid claims by regions of the UK.
	Amounts of tax repaid to charities in the UK on donations under Gift Aid are published in Table 10.1 on the HMRC website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/menu.htm
	In 2009-10 a total of £1,007 million(1) was repaid to UK charities under Gift Aid.
	(1) Provisional.

Inheritance Tax

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the threshold at which inheritance tax is charged.

David Gauke: The Budget in June 2010 confirmed that the inheritance tax threshold will be frozen at £325,000 until 2014-15. As set out in the coalition agreement, the Government have decided that making changes to the personal allowances for income tax should take priority over other tax cuts including cuts to inheritance tax. Any changes to the inheritance tax regime will then have to be considered with due regard to the Government's priorities of reducing the fiscal deficit and ensuring economic recovery. Any decision would be made through the usual Budget process.

Taxation: Personal Savings

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of reducing the starting rate of income tax on savings income to 0 per cent. in the first 12 months following implementation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his latest estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of increasing the starting rate limit for savings income to £5,000 in the 12 months following implementation.

David Gauke: It is estimated that income tax liabilities due in 2011-12 would fall by £120 million if the starting rate of tax for savings income were reduced to 0% and by £100 million if the starting rate limit for savings income were increased to £5,000.
	These estimates are, however, illustrative and do not take into account behavioural effects. Actual Exchequer impacts are likely to be smaller due to the deduction at source of tax on savings income at the basic rate of tax, and would depend on how taxpayers with savings income in the starting rate band respond to the changes.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Prices

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met representatives of  (a) Ofgem and  (b) energy suppliers to discuss consumer energy prices.

Christopher Huhne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley) and the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) earlier today.

Gas Security

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the security of gas supplies in winter months.

Christopher Huhne: National Grid's Winter Outlook forecasts demand for winter 2010-11 will be 0.5% higher than weather corrected actual demands in 2009-10. Gas supplies are forecasted to be higher than last year's forecast, and there is further potential for even higher levels of supply from Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and imports over the interconnector.
	Government place highest emphasis on security by supporting a highly liquid and open market where gas is obtained from a diverse range of sources.

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research on the reduction of the level of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions comparing the costs and benefits of different means of generation and conservation of energy his Department has taken into account in reaching policy decisions on such matters.

Gregory Barker: Cost effectiveness is one of a number of important criteria Government must take into account when considering policy options-both in the short-term and long-term-and across the economy.
	An economic appraisal of the costs and benefits of an intervention is a mandatory part of impact assessments for all policies, and allows consideration of the relative merits of different policy options. This must be carried out in line with HM Treasury's Green Book and the supplementary guidance on the valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal and evaluation where policies have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
	Considerations of the long-term pathway to the UK's target to reduce emissions by at least 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 is also part of the evidence base to inform decision making-and analysis from economy wide long-term pathway least-cost optimisation models has been commissioned in the past (ie for the Low Carbon Transition Plan, Climate Change Act impact assessment, and Energy White Papers) and will be drawn on in future, to gain insight into the key long-term considerations.
	Across the package of policies and measures put in place to deliver the savings required to meet the UK's carbon budgets there is a wide range of cost-effectiveness: Conservation and energy efficiency measures typically represent more cost-effective options in the near term, while decarbonising the power generation sector is key to place the UK on track with its long-term target-and to do so at least-cost, avoiding locking in to costlier alternatives.
	Evidence on the net costs and cost effectiveness of the economy wide package of policies and measures to deliver the first three carbon budgets was published in the Analytical Annex to the Low Carbon Transition Plan (DECC, July 2009). Since then various individual impact assessments have been produced, for example to support the Energy Bill, and an impact assessment on the Electricity Market Reform will be published alongside the consultation document. The Government will produce its report on delivering the Fourth Carbon Budget by October 2011.
	 References:
	Valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal and evaluation
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/anafysts group/analysts group.aspx
	Low Carbon Transition Plan 2009
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/lc_uk/lc_trans_plan/lc_trans_plan.aspx
	Energy White Paper 2007
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/legislation/white_papers/white_paper_07/white_paper_07.aspx
	Individual impact assessments available on the BRE online library
	http://www.ialibrary.berr.gov.uk/links/

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken since his appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within his responsibility.

Gregory Barker: The nature of the Department's work means that there is some need for Ministers and staff to attend conferences. However, a new travel and subsistence policy has been introduced with effect from October 2010 under which:
	Staff should only travel if it is absolutely necessary
	Subsistence claims will be based on actual costs
	All travel bookings must be made though the official suppliers
	Standard or economy class must be used unless there is a clear business need for a higher class to be approved
	All claims will need to be approved regardless of grade.

Electricity

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish his projections for electricity to be fed from each source into the grid in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2011,  (c) 2012,  (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

Charles Hendry: The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme for Great Britain was launched in April 2010. The scheme covers sub-5 MW wind, hydro, solar PV, anaerobic digestion and domestic scale micro-CHP installations. DECC published an impact assessment in February 2010 setting out projections for TWh generation levels, for further details, see:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx
	Internal analysis by DECC, consistent with the 'chosen option' in the Impact assessment, shows that over the period 2010 to 2014, over 80% of projected electricity generation under the FITs scheme is expected to be exported back to the grid. The following table sets out these estimates in greater detail.
	
		
			  Projected electricity generation under FITs (inclusive of business-as-usual)( 1) 
			   Financial years 
			   2010  2011  2012  2013  2014 
			 Total GWh 259 603 1,113 1,665 2,342 
			 Percentage exported back to grid 87 84 82 80 80 
			 GWh exported back to grid 227 507 907 1,334 1,865 
			 (1 )Where business-as-usual represents sub-5 MW generation that would have occurred in the absence of FITs under the renewables obligation. 
		
	
	In addition, there will be other electricity generation connected to the distribution networks that is not supported under the Feed-in Tariff.

Energy Supply

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will hold discussions with representatives of household consumer gas and oil companies on the recent rise in prices of such fuels to domestic customers; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission are responsible for enforcement of competition and consumer law which applies to the sale of heating oil and liquid petroleum gas.
	If consumers have reason to believe that the price for heating oil or LPG indicates anti-competitive behaviour by suppliers, evidence about this behaviour, should be sent to the OFT.

Energy: Housing

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that fuel expenditure in vulnerable households using the Pay As You Save scheme will be reduced sufficiently to raise each household out of fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal will provide the opportunity for householders to take action to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, and protect themselves against price rises through greater energy saving.
	A new Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which will take over from the current Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme when they come to an end, will run in parallel with the Green Deal when introduced in 2012.
	Through the ECO, we expect energy companies to play a greater role than under previous obligations in helping ensure that more of the poorest and most vulnerable can afford to heat their homes adequately. Alongside insulation measures, we expect them to be able to offer basic heating systems for those who most need them.
	In addition, from April next year, energy suppliers will be required to provide greater help with the financial costs of energy bills to more of the most vulnerable fuel poor households through the Warm Home Discount.

Energy: Housing

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that the energy use in households using the Pay As You Save scheme will generate sufficient savings to repay the loan from his Department.

Gregory Barker: Green Deal arrangements will be financed by private companies, and not by the Department. A key principle is that payments collected through the Green Deal should not exceed the expected savings, but it is not possible to guarantee this, as both energy price and energy usage can fluctuate over time.
	We are reviewing how best to design the assessment at the beginning of the Green Deal to enable the savings estimates to be as accurate as possible, and we are considering what behavioural advice can be given to consumers to ensure they understand how to realise the maximum potential savings.
	We are also designing the new Energy Company Obligation to ensure that further support is available for those in need of additional help, including low income vulnerable households and those in hard to treat properties.

Energy: Prices

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has assessed the merits of bringing forward proposals to require energy companies to maintain tariffs offered to consumers for a minimum of six months from the date of contract acceptance.

Charles Hendry: DECC has not carried out detailed analysis of these proposals. However, as part of its upcoming retail market review, Ofgem will be looking into issues concerning tariff complexity and consumer engagement.
	Under existing rules Ofgem already require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to bring the principal terms of a contract to the attention of a customer, before it is agreed, including whether a tariff is variable, fixed or an introductory offer. Consumers are able to take advantage of a range of fixed rate deals offered by suppliers, if they want to ensure that a tariff is maintained for a period of time.

Energy: Tariffs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will ensure that the proposed Energy Security and Green Economy Bill includes provisions requiring minimum standards for energy tariffs including the removal of tracker tariffs from the market until a standard benchmark for tracking is agreed and the removal of tariffs marketed as having no standing charges but with an increase in the unit rate equivalent to the value of the standing charge; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Bill does not contain the measures the hon. Member asks about. However, following the publication of their latest quarterly prices report, Ofgem announced a review of the retail energy market to decide if further changes are needed to ensure the market works in the interests of consumers and to increase transparency. Ofgem will report on this review in March of next year. This announcement is available online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/PressRel/Documents1/Retail%20Market%2026%20November.pdf
	In addition, following their 2008 probe into retail energy markets Ofgem introduced standards of conduct that it expects suppliers to take all reasonable steps to adhere to. Included in these standards is an expectation that suppliers should not sell products that are inappropriate to a customer's needs or offer products that are unnecessarily complex or confusing.

Fuel: Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of those in fuel poverty who are eligible for assistance in the priority group for  (a) Phase Two of the Energy Efficiency Commitment scheme and  (b) the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme.

Gregory Barker: We estimate that in 2006 58% of fuel poor households were eligible for assistance in the priority group as defined in phase two of the Energy Efficiency Commitment. In 2008, the most recent Fuel Poverty statistics available, approximately 77% of fuel poor households were eligible for assistance in the priority group as defined in the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

Fuel: Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of recipients of assistance in the priority group for  (a) Phase Two of the Energy Efficiency Commitment scheme and  (b) the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme who are fuel poor.

Gregory Barker: The priority group target ensures that households more likely to experience fuel poverty do receive support. However, we do not have data detailing whether households that received measures under priority group rules during either supplier obligation phase were fuel poor at the point of installation. This summer we introduced a super priority group obligation under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to ensure that more of the low income households vulnerable to fuel poverty receive energy efficiency measures.

Fuel: Poverty

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department takes to assess whether a household in England is in fuel poverty; and how many such households there are in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) the London borough of Brent.

Gregory Barker: In England, a household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth (usually defined as 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).
	In order to determine the required spend on fuel, the annual energy consumption of each household is modelled based on characteristics of the dwelling and the households members. The source of data for this is the English Housing Survey (EHS), an annual survey commissioned by CLG. In addition, the EHS also contains information on the structure of the property, energy efficiency measures, the type of walls and the fuels used.
	This modelled consumption is then combined with energy price information in order to calculate the required spend. The information on domestic gas and electricity prices is collected and published by DECC on a quarterly basis via a survey of all major energy suppliers. Information on prices of other fuels come from external sources, including from the Office for National Statistics and the Sutherland tables.
	Income information is collected as part of the EHS, via a set of detailed questions. This information includes income from the earnings, benefits and savings for the whole household.
	Full details of the methodology employed for calculating fuel poverty statistics can be found in the Fuel Poverty Methodology Handbook at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/fuelpov_stats.aspx
	The following table shows the number of households in fuel poverty (and the year to which the statistics relate) in England, London and Brent.
	
		
			  Area   Number of households in fuel poverty 
			  (a) England 2008 3.3 million 
			  (b) London (Government office region) 2008 328,000 
			  (c) London Borough of Brent (1)2006 10,300 
			 (1 )(T)he latest year for which sub-national fuel poverty statistics are available is 2006.

Nabucco Pipeline Project

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent reports he has received on progress on the proposed Nabucco pipeline project; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: In its Second Strategic Energy Review of November 2008, the European Commission set out its support for the development of a southern gas corridor. The proposed Nabucco pipeline was specifically designated as a project of strategic importance in the Trans-European Networks-Energy programme.
	A number of recent developments have been well-received by the Nabucco consortium. In March 2010, it welcomed the news that the intergovernmental agreement of 13 July 2009, which provides a stable legal framework for gas transit, had been ratified by all signatory countries. In addition, in June 2010, the consortium welcomed the agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan which defined the terms of gas transit to Turkey and Europe.
	We understand that the proposed Nabucco pipeline is currently under consideration by the consortium that owns the Shah Deniz II gas field in Azerbaijan, with a final investment decision expected in 2011.

Oil: Prices

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department takes to prevent oil companies increasing oil prices during inclement weather.

Charles Hendry: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson).

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what methodology he uses to calculate the number of households defined as vulnerable for the purposes of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000.

Gregory Barker: Vulnerable households are those that contain the elderly (60 or over), children (under 16) or somebody who is long-term sick or disabled.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Broadband

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much of the £530 million allocated from the BBC licence fee for high speed broadband provision by 2015 has been allocated for expenditure in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 15 December 2010
	No specific amounts have been made to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland out of the £530 million allocated in spending review to support broadband rollout.
	The approach being taken to the support of broadband rollout is to support specific projects rather than to make allocations to nations or regions. Four pilot projects were announced on 20 October for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Herefordshire. Final allocations to these projects will await the outcome of open procurement processes but it is expected that £5 million to £10 million will be spent on each project.
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), announced on 6 December 2010 that bids would be invited for a further wave of projects in April 2011, with £50 million of the £530 million being available for that wave.

Company Liquidations: Greater London

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) compulsory and  (b) creditor voluntary liquidations were commenced in (i) Greater London and (ii) the London borough of Enfield in each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: Official statistics covering corporate insolvencies for England and Wales are not currently available at sub-national level.
	Annual totals for both compulsory and creditors' voluntary liquidations in England and Wales are presented in Table 1 of the Quarterly Insolvency Statistics, the latest publication of which can be found on the Insolvency Service website:
	http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/201011/table1.pdf
	Annual figures for 2010 will be available in the next release of the Insolvency Statistics on 4 February 2011.

Directors: Disqualification

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) directors and  (b) chief executives have been (i) imprisoned and (ii) disqualified from office for offences related to the discharge of their functions in each of the last 10 years; and for what offences.

Edward Davey: holding answer 6 December 2010
	The Department's records relating to prosecutions record outcomes according to offences prosecuted and do not specifically identify either company directors or chief executives. The Department prosecutes a range of offences, primarily under the Insolvency Act 1986, the Companies Acts 1985 and 2006, and the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Many of the criminal offences created by the Companies Act 2006 are committed by "an officer of the company" and will therefore apply to directors, managers and secretaries. Consequently, it is not possible to indicate the numbers of directors or chief executives imprisoned or disqualified for offences relating to the discharge of their functions.
	The offence relating to the re-use of a company name following insolvent liquidation created by section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is aimed solely at directors or shadow directors. Relevant figures are in the following tables:
	
		
			  Financial year  Imprisonment  Disqualification (of total cases prosecuted) 
			 2000-01 2 10 
			 2001-02 4 24 
			 2002-03 0 11 
			 2003-04 3 11 
			 2004-05 0 13 
			 2005-06 1 9 
			 2006-07 7 10 
			 2007-08 0 6 
			 2008-09 3 4 
			 2009-10 2 11 
		
	
	The following table provides figures for all persons imprisoned or disqualified following prosecutions by the Department for offences under the Companies Acts during this period:
	
		
			  Financial year  Imprisonment  Disqualification (of total cases prosecuted) 
			 2000-01 2 23 
			 2001-02 11 35 
			 2002-03 7 34 
			 2003-04 6 39 
			 2004-05 8 34 
			 2005-06 8 36 
			 2006-07 9 14 
			 2007-08 17 23 
			 2008-09 12 11 
			 2009-10 21 17 
		
	
	The following table provides figures for all persons imprisoned or disqualified following prosecutions by the Department for all offences during this period:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total number of convictions  Imprisonment  Disqualification (of total cases prosecuted) 
			 2000-01 347 32 231 
			 2001-02 365 32 116 
			 2002-03 332 21 112 
			 2003-04 259 21 75 
			 2004-05 250 19 78 
			 2005-06 190 22 78 
			 2006-07 184 31 53 
			 2007-08 250 48 75 
			 2008-09 197 37 47 
			 2009-10 164 47 53 
		
	
	All figures provided relate to prosecutions brought by the Department. We do not hold relevant figures pertaining to prosecutions brought by any other prosecuting authority.

Student Loans Company: Fees and Charges

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the monetary value was of outstanding tuition fees not paid by the Student Loans Company in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how much and what proportion of tuition fees had not been paid by the Student Loans Company within  (a) six and  (b) 12 months of the due date in the latest academic year for which figures are available;
	(3)  what proportion of tuition fees was paid on time by the Student Loans Company in the latest academic year for which figures are available.

David Willetts: Where students take out loans for tuition from the Student Loans Company (SLC), payments are normally made direct to universities in two instalments, in February and May each year. I am informed by SLC that almost all tuition fees are paid promptly once the student's attendance has been confirmed. Comparatively small sums (less than 0.1% of the total) are held back, usually due to the need to reconcile overpayments made in previous academic years (for example, when a student leaves their course early and the full amount of tuition fee, already paid, may no longer be applicable). This is illustrated as follows. Figures are not available for AY2007/08 and earlier.
	
		
			  AY2009/10 
			  Domicile  Amount paid  (£ billion)  Amount outstanding (£)  Percentage outstanding  Estimate of amount outstanding (£)  Percentage of estimate of amount outstanding 
			 England 2.33 (1)n/a n/a 529,000 0.02 
			 All UK 2.60 595,000 0.02 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available (1) There are no comparative figures available for amounts outstanding for England only.  Note: Data calculated as at early December 2010 
		
	
	
		
			  AY2008/09 
			  Domicile  Amount paid  (£ billion)  Amount outstanding (£)  Percentage outstanding  Estimate of amount outstanding (£)  Percentage of estimate of amount outstanding 
			 England 2.01 (1)n/a n/a 778,000 0.04 
			 All UK 2.24 875,000 0.04 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available (1) There are no comparative figures available for amounts outstanding for England only.  Note: Data calculated as at early December 2009

Telephone Services: Health

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has provided funding for the launch and operation of the European Harmonised Number for Emotional Support; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom launched a comparative selection process for the 116123 "Emotional support helpline" service in February 2009 and allocated it to the charity Samaritans and its chosen communications provider BT in October 2009 after an extensive selection process. The number is now operational alongside Samaritans' UK-wide 0845 number and local branch numbers.
	The Department for Business does not provide funding for any of the 116 range of numbers.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Females

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's funding to projects in Afghanistan has been allocated to projects to support women's organisations and activities in the last 12 months; and what projects have been so supported.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government are placing women at the heart of the whole of our agenda for international development. All the Department for International Development's (DFID) programmes take account of their impact on women and girls in their design and implementation. DFID has supported a number of programmes that directly benefit women's organisations and activities in Afghanistan over the past year. For example, our support to the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and WOMANKIND Worldwide is supporting civil society organisations in Afghanistan address the human rights and practical needs of women and girls.
	DFID has also committed £12 million from 2010-11 to 2012-13 to the Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme, implemented by the Afghan Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation Development. The programme has a Gender Equality Strategy, which has helped to ensure that men and women participate almost equally in project-supported activities.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aid from his Department was allocated to each province in Afghanistan in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Mitchell: In 2009-10 approximately 16% of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) bilateral programme budget in Afghanistan was spent directly in Helmand province. The remaining 84% was spent on programmes that cover the whole of Afghanistan (including Helmand).

Departmental Equality

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he intends to publish an updated Gender Equality Action Plan for his Department; and what consultation he plans to carry out on the plan.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) has been extended until March 2011. DFID currently has regular and ongoing dialogue on our GEAP, for example with Bond and the Gender and Development Network, with whom officials will be meeting on 12 January.
	The UK Government are placing women at the heart of the whole of our agenda for international development. We have set out our objectives for empowering women and girls in DFID's Business Plan 2011-15. These are to increase the number of girls in primary and secondary education, promote economic empowerment of women and girls, pilot new approaches to violence against women and improve maternal health and access to family planning. The Business Plan is available on the No. 10 website and in the Library of the House.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what budgetary guidance his Department has issued to each country office on  (a) existing spending agreements,  (b) contractual arrangements with external parties or governments and  (c) future funding programmes since the announcement of its bilateral spending review.

Andrew Mitchell: Immediately after the election, a number of projects were identified as either poorly performing or of low priority. Country offices were instructed to reallocate identified funds to other priority areas as soon was practical and to do so in line with existing contractual arrangements.
	I launched a review of the UK's bilateral aid programmes on Wednesday 16 June 2010. While the review is ongoing, country teams have continued to implement existing programmes with the exception of those already identified as poorly performing or of low priority.
	Ministers and officials in my Department are currently in discussion regarding the allocation of UK aid to countries and priority areas over the spending review period. final decisions will be made upon the conclusion of the bilateral and multilateral aid reviews early next year.

Developing Countries: Agriculture

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure aid for agricultural development funded by his Department reaches people living in rural areas.

Stephen O'Brien: Our programmes are designed to ensure that end beneficiaries are identified from the outset. People in rural areas are a target group for agricultural development programmes. During implementation, we regularly monitor progress to ensure that programmes are delivering their intended results. Once a programme has finished, a formal project completion report assesses results achieved against objectives set.
	For some programmes, specifically those which are large scale or innovative in design, we subsequently carry out full evaluations to ensure that lessons learned during implementation are captured and taken into account in the design of subsequent programmes to improve their effectiveness. These evaluations are published so that other donors can use them in the design of their own programmes.
	The reports are also open to public and parliamentary scrutiny, providing a direct line of accountability for DFID's activities. From next summer we are taking this a step further with the launch of an Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) which will have a remit to evaluate and review any UK aid spending. The Independent Commission will be clearly separated from DFID, reporting directly to Parliament.

Madagascar: Agriculture

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to assist Madagascar in its agricultural development.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no bilateral programme in Madagascar. We have no plans to offer direct assistance on agricultural development. All of our funding to Madagascar-over £51 million in 2008-09-is provided through our attributed share to multilateral institutions such as the EU, World Bank and African Development Bank.

Madagascar: Agriculture

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to assist Madagascar meet its commitments under the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) strongly supports implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), as well as related initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and African Union work to establish long term investment plans and increase the proportion of national budgets for agriculture. DFID is providing a £10 million grant to a Multi-Donor Trust Fund, with the World Bank, which will facilitate the implementation of the CAADP. DFID does not provide separate bilateral funding to Madagascar to support CAADP implementation.

Madagascar: Agriculture

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on agricultural development in Madagascar in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no bilateral programme in Madagascar. We have provided no direct assistance on agricultural development over the last five years. All of our funding to Madagascar, over £51 million in 2008-09-is provided through our attributed share to multilateral institutions such as the EU, World Bank and African Development Bank.

Madagascar: Climate Change

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment his Department has made on the effects of climate change on agriculture and food security in Madagascar.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no bilateral programme in Madagascar. We have made no direct assessment of the effects of climate change on agriculture and food security in Madagascar.

Madagascar: Climate Change

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps his Department  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take in the future to ensure that the poorest and most marginal farmers in Madagascar can adapt to climate change;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on climate change adaptation for smallholder farmers in Madagascar in each of the last five years; and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on  (a) climate change measures overseas,  (b) climate change measures adaptation overseas,  (c) climate change in the developing world and  (d) climate change adaptation in the developing world this represented in each such year.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no bilateral programme in Madagascar. We have provided no direct assistance on climate change adaptation for poor and marginal farmers in Madagascar over the last five years.
	Earlier this month, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced extra support to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). In 2010-11 DFID has allocated £36.75 million to the CGIAR, including £7.25 million for a new CGIAR Consortium Research Programme, which will help adapt farming systems in the developing world to both current and progressive climate change and to limit its impact. DFID has also provided £10 million (from 2008 up to 2012) to the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa, of which Madagascar is a member, to support research into agricultural issues, including climate change adaptation.

Madagascar: Food

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the level of food security in Madagascar.

Stephen O'Brien: According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the food security situation in southern Madagascar is likely to worsen in the coming months as a result of consecutive droughts and poor rainfall. The Department for International Development (DFID) has no bilateral programme in Madagascar, but will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Madagascar: Food Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on emergency food aid for Madagascar in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided over £3 million in total, over the last five years, to United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs in Madagascar.
	Funds have been spent on: emergency treatment for acutely malnourished children; emergency assistance to help communities recover from the damage and destruction caused by tropical storms and cyclones; and the pre-positioning of stocks in the event of future disasters. No specific support to emergency food aid has been provided to date.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Food

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the effects on local food production in sub-Saharan Africa of deforestation attributable to the development of palm oil plantations by Chinese land owners.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are working in partnership with China on a project on the international palm oil industry. This is developing the rationale for the import into China of sustainable palm oil products. This will cover work on Chinese investments overseas, including in Africa. It will conclude in March 2011 with a report and policy options, which we will discuss with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

UN Central Emergency Relief Fund: Conferences

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Ministers from his Department he expects to attend the forthcoming UN Central Emergency Relief Fund replenishment conference; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK Permanent Representative to the UN in New York represented the UK at the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund replenishment conference which took place on 14 December and made a statement outlining our ongoing support.
	The UK provided £40 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2010 and I have just released an additional £40 million for 2011. Future contributions to the CERF will be determined as part of the Multilateral Aid Review, which will report in February 2011.

HEALTH

Abortion

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnancy terminations among women under the age of 19 years there were in Brighton and Hove in each year since 2007.

Anne Milton: Information on the number of abortions carried out on women under the age of 19 resident in Brighton and Hove in each year since 2007 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortions for women aged under 19, resident in Brighton and Hove PCT, 2007-09 
			   Number 
			 2007 168 
			 2008 158 
			 2009 138 
			  Source: Statistical Bulletin, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales for 2007, 2008 and 2009

Baby Care Units

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made on the effect of introduction of the toolkit for high quality neo-natal service on care for pre-term babies since 2009;
	(2)  what plans he has for the future number of neonatal nurses  (a) nationally,  (b) in the South West and  (c) in Totnes constituency;
	(3)  if he will take steps to improve neonatal services  (a) nationally,  (b) in the South West and  (c) in Totnes constituency.

Anne Milton: The Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services and the recently published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard for Specialist Neonatal Care are valuable tools to assist national health service commissioners and providers in the provision high quality care for babies and their families.
	Since publication of the Toolkit, progress has been made. Every neonatal unit is now part of a managed clinical network and networks have increased transport services hours and coverage. There is still more to do. As set out in the NICE Quality Standard, networks, commissioners and providers will wish to undertake an annual needs assessment and ensure each network has adequate capacity. This includes ensuring there are appropriate numbers of neonatal nurses.

Baby Care Units

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much he has allocated to neonatal care  (a) nationally,  (b) in the South West and  (c) in Totnes constituency in each year of the spending review period.

Anne Milton: The Department currently makes recurrent revenue allocations direct to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a national weighted capitation formula which is used to determine each PCTs target share of available resources. The components of the formula are used to weight each PCTs population according to their relative need (age and additional need) for healthcare and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing healthcare (the market forces factor).
	PCT recurrent revenue allocations are not broken down by policy or service area. Once allocated, it is for PCTs to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.

Carers: Social Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to improve services for carers.

Paul Burstow: The Government published an update to the 2008 Carers Strategy on 25 November 2010. "Recognised, valued and supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy" sets out clear priorities for the next four years, focusing on the four areas which will have the biggest impact on carers' lives:
	supporting those with caring responsibilities to identify themselves as carers at an early stage;
	enabling those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and employment potential;
	personalised support both for carers and those they support; and
	supporting carers to remain mentally and physically well.
	In addition, the Department will provide additional funding of £400 million to the national health service over the next four years to enable more carers to take breaks from their caring responsibilities. The 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework states that primary care trusts (PCTs) should pool budgets with local authorities to provide carers' breaks, as far as possible, via direct payments or personal health budgets. For 2011-12, PCTs should agree policies, plans and budgets to support carers with local authorities and local carers' organisations, and make them available to local people.
	The Department will also provide up to £6 million to fund training to increase general practitioners' awareness and understanding of carers' needs for support.

Doctors: Training

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has conducted any research into the reasons why some foundation house officers do not complete their foundation training.

Anne Milton: The UK Foundation Programme Office has collected data since 2009 on the reasons foundation doctors do not complete foundation training.
	There are a number of reasons why some foundation doctors do not complete their training. Some resign, some leave the programme for personal/family reasons, some transfer to flexible training, some require remedial training and are therefore unable to progress until this is completed, a small number are dismissed from the training programme because of disciplinary or performance issues.
	The proportion of doctors who did not complete foundation training in 2009 was 6%, and 5.42% in 2010.

General Practitioners: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners provide out-of-hours care in  (a) Coventry and  (b) the West Midlands.

Anne Milton: This information is not collected centrally. This information may be available directly from the West Midlands primary care trusts.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bosworth of 7 December 2010,  Official Report, column 165, on the regulation of qualified herbalists, what plans he has for the regulation of practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: In my response to the hon. Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) of 8 December 2010,  Official Report, column 337W, I indicated that the Government are currently considering their overall strategy on professional regulation, including the possibility of establishing a registration scheme for practitioners of traditional forms of medicine. Consideration of the feasibility of such a scheme applies to both herbal medicines practitioners and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.

Hospitals: Admissions

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the survival rate was for acute myocardial infarction within 30 days after emergency hospital admission in  (a) each primary care trust and  (b) England in each of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: Data on survival rates are not available centrally.
	However, data for the standardised rate of deaths within 30 days of emergency admission to hospital for patients aged 35 to 74 years who have had a myocardial infarction are available, and the figures for the financial years 1999-2000 to 2008-09 have been placed in the Library. These are the latest 10 financial years available.

In Vitro Fertilisation: Homosexuality

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether same sex couples are eligible to receive IVF treatment on the NHS.

Anne Milton: Access to national health service funded fertility services is based on clinical need. If a couple has clinical grounds for accessing NHS fertility treatment, then provision should be considered regardless of the patient's sexual orientation.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its fertility guidelines. NICE is at the stage of gathering evidence and currently expects to publish the final updated guidelines towards the end of 2012. The scope of the update includes consideration of treatment for same sex couples.

Kidneys: Donors

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the use of kidneys from non-heartbeating donors within the national kidney allocation scheme.

Anne Milton: Donation after cardiac death (DCD) has been increasing steadily in the United Kingdom for some years. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), an arm's length body of the Department, recently welcomed a study reported in  T he Lancet, which highlighted the success of kidney transplants from DCD donors.
	Although DCD is not a substitute for donation after brain stem death, it increases the number of people who can benefit from a transplant. NHSBT has set up a working party to consider possible changes to the national allocation scheme for DCD donor kidneys.

Kidneys: Donors

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to increase availability of kidneys for donation from heartbeating and non-heartbeating donors.

Anne Milton: We realise that people waiting for a kidney transplant represent the highest proportion of people on the transplant waiting list. Kidney transplant also has the highest potential to release savings to the national health service through decreasing demand on renal haemodialysis.
	The Department has therefore worked with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and other key professional organisations since the Organ Donation Taskforce presented 14 recommendations in early 2008. Work has focussed on redesigning and strengthening the NHS infrastructure to help ensure that all potential donors are identified and their families approached with the offer of organ donation.
	Steady improvement is being made. During 2009-10, organ donor rates increased to nearly 20%, over the baseline year of 2007-08. NHSBT aim to see organ donor rates continue to rise, allowing many more people to benefit from a life saving or life enhancing transplant.

Kidneys: Transplant Surgery

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the number of  (a) women,  (b) men and  (c) children on waiting lists for kidney transplants; and what recent estimate he has made of the average time spent on such a waiting list by each type of patient.

Anne Milton: The number of patients currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant as at 13 December 2010 is in the table.
	
		
			   Status 
			  Gender/age  Active  Suspended( 1)  Total 
			 Male 4,138 1,603 5,741 
			 Female 2,923 1,048 3,971 
			 Gender not reported 9 3 12 
			 
			 Paediatric 110 34 144 
			 Adult 6,960 2,620 9,580 
			 
			 Total 7,070 2,654 9,724 
			 (1 )Suspended indicates those patients on the waiting list who are temporarily suspended from the list for a number of reasons. Sometimes, patients are suspended from the waiting list because of, for example, an infection which results in them not being well enough for a transplant or a wish to have a holiday. 
		
	
	The numbers include patients also waiting for other organs in addition to a kidney (such as kidney/pancreas).
	The average waiting times are 1,088 days for adults and 276 days for children. NHS Blood and Transplant does not have figures on the average waiting time split between males and females. However, previous analyses have shown that female patients wait longer for transplants than males. This is due to higher levels of sensitisation in female patients caused by pregnancies, which means that it can be more difficult to identify a compatible donor.

Maternity Services

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity units closed in each primary healthcare trust area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not collected by the Department.

Mental Health Services

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to increase the funding available to support mental health early intervention teams.

Paul Burstow: The funding plans have already been set out in the spending review and the national health service is sufficiently funded to support the commissioning of early intervention teams. The Government are supportive of the use of evidence-based care, such as early intervention, for young people with first onset psychosis. However, it is for local commissioners and providers to make the decisions on commissioning and providing specific services.

Palliative Care: Prisoners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what palliative care provision there is for prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) on 9 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 390-91W.

Primary Care Trusts: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from local authorities in the West Midlands on the transfer of public health responsibilities from primary care trusts.

Simon Burns: The Regional Director of Public Health (RDPH) in the West Midlands has individually met all the chief executives of local authorities in the region to discuss the future public health system. She is leading the transition arrangements within the West Midlands on behalf of the Department, and local authority chief executives are involved in those arrangements. Chief executives from across the region are members of the main transition group.
	Following publication of the Public Health White Paper "Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England", the Government will shortly consult on both the public health outcomes framework and the commissioning and funding for public health. The RDPH will continue to work closely with local government during and after the consultation period to ensure we address areas of concern, facilitated by arrangements for several consultation events across the West Midlands.

Swine Flu

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the Health Protection Agency on preparedness for any outbreak of the  (a) H5N1 and  (b) H1N1 virus; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) works closely with the Department to ensure the national health service remains prepared should a new pandemic emerge. The HPA has links with other international agencies and regularly monitors the situation on outbreaks of H5N1 influenza in other countries. The 2009 pandemic tested organisations' plans and the NHS remains well prepared should a new pandemic emerge. This includes the potential for a more severe pandemic, such as could be caused by bird flu, and supplies of H5N1 prepandemic vaccine have been purchased as part of the preparedness plans. The Department is currently reviewing the national strategy for pandemic preparedness and will take into account the lessons learned from the H1N1 2009 swine flu response and recent scientific evidence.
	The HPA publishes a Weekly National Influenza Report, which is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/Seasonallnfluenza/EpidemiologicalData/02influsweeklyreport/
	The H1N1 (2009) virus is now regarded as one of the group of seasonal influenza viruses in general circulation and therefore the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations on the use of antivirals for treatment and prophylaxis will apply during the 2010-11 influenza season. This was communicated to the NHS by the director of immunisation in a letter dated 10 December 2010 which is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_122573.pdf
	A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library.
	The seasonal flu vaccine offers protection against H1N1 (2009) and two other strains of flu virus. The Department encourages all those aged 65 or over, those with a condition that puts them at risk from the effects of flu, and pregnant women to take up the offer of vaccination if they have not already done so.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has issued guidance to primary care trusts and GPs on the use of vaccination against the  (a) H5N1 and  (b) H1N1 virus.

Anne Milton: The Department has issued information to primary care trusts and general practitioners about the annual seasonal influenza immunisation programme for winter 2010-11. This programme offers vaccination against the H1N1 swine influenza virus.
	The interim chief medical officer's letter to the national health service dated 23 June 2010 on the seasonal influenza immunisation programme is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_116943.pdf
	A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library.
	A letter from the director of immunisation was sent to the NHS on 19 November 2010 to highlight the importance of achieving high uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine in eligible groups. This letter is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_121934
	A copy of this letter has already been placed in the Library.
	Supplies of H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine have been purchased as part of the preparedness plan and relevant advice would be issued as required in the case of the vaccine being distributed.

Tamiflu

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness on patients of  (a) Tamiflu and  (b) Relenza.

Anne Milton: The antiviral drugs marketed as Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) can be used in two broadly distinct disease settings. Firstly, in seasonal influenza, the kind of 'flu' that occurs annually over the winter months, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have examined the effectiveness of both drugs and concluded that they both should be made available to treat at-risk patients with suspected influenza illness and when seasonal influenza virus is circulating.
	This NICE guidance does not cover the use of these drugs in a second disease setting, pandemics of influenza, which occur only rarely but at potentially any time of year. For this situation, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee (SPI) reviewed the effectiveness of Tamiflu and Relenza in 2007 and concluded that both drugs could have a significant beneficial impact in reducing morbidity and thus mortality. SPI is currently re-examining the scientific evidence base for the use of antiviral drugs in pandemic influenza. The output from this review will be published in early 2011.

Weather

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on proposals for a national winter emergency plan; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) on 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 168W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation: Children

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the number of children under the age of 16 years living in bed and breakfast accommodation between 2010 and 2015.

Grant Shapps: The latest homelessness statistics show that at the end of September 2010 there were 930 households in bed and breakfast style temporary accommodation containing dependent children and/or a pregnant woman. Within these households there were 1,490 children or expected children. The Department has not produced forecasts for future years.
	Under homelessness legislation that applies to England, bed and breakfast cannot be used by a local housing authority to discharge a duty to secure accommodation for applicants who are pregnant, or whose household includes a pregnant woman or a dependant child, unless no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks aggregate.
	This Government are committed to tackling and preventing homelessness. We have protected Homelessness Grant funding, with £400 million over the spending review period. This will be made available to local authorities and the voluntary sector to support their work to tackle homelessness. We have made an additional £190 million available for discretionary housing payments and other forms of practical support alongside the Government's package of welfare reform measures.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to my letter on the spending review's settlement for housing of 20 October 2010, a copy of which is in the Library of the House, on our plans to build more affordable homes and renovate poor quality social housing.

Children: Day Care

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to provide alternative forms of  (a) provision and  (b) support to adults using day centres where such services are withdrawn as a result of local authority spending reductions.

Bob Neill: Local government are responsible for decisions on the delivery of social care in their area. The Government have provided additional funding in recognition of the adult social care pressures that local authorities will face and the importance Government places on social care, including an extra £l billion which the NHS will make available by 2014-15 in order to support social care services which benefit health.

Community Groups

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) public houses,  (b) libraries and  (c) community centres have transferred ownership to community groups in each of the last five years in (i) Scotland, (ii) England and (iii) Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: There are no centrally held records of completed asset transfers in England. However, the Asset Transfer Unit, which is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, holds statistics for completed asset transfers relating to government-funded asset transfer programmes, and these show that there has been a total of 51 transfers since 2007. This total includes 15 community centres and five libraries. A survey carried out by SQW consultants in 2009 for the Development Trusts Association indicated that of around 1,000 transfers under way in England, approximately one third related to community centres. As many public houses are privately owned and purchased, there are no centrally held records. According to figures provided by the Plunkett Foundation, there are three legally registered co-operative pubs in England. Figures for other forms of community ownership of pubs are not available.
	Information relating to Scotland and Wales is a devolved matter.

Community Groups

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average time taken for the transfer of ownership of a public house to a community group in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: There are no national statistics collected for the transfer of public houses to community ownership, so it is not possible to estimate the average time that a transfer takes.
	The time it takes to transfer a public house to community ownership will vary considerably according to the local circumstances. Determining factors will include the expertise available within any particular community, the level of support that a community group can access to ensure they have the required knowledge and skills, the level of funding needed, and the operational condition of the pub.

Compulsory Purchase: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of premises that were subject to a compulsory purchase order in each principal seaside town in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Department does not hold estimates of the number of premises subject to compulsory purchase orders. However the number of orders in principal seaside towns confirmed by the Secretary of State was three, the number referred back to the acquiring authority for their own confirmation was seven and the number not confirmed was four. This information has been based on the addresses show on each individual order.
	My officials will retrieve the relevant files from archive and I will write to the hon. Member confirming the number of plots.

Council Housing: Surveys

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his plans for the future of the NI160 Status Survey Grant.

Grant Shapps: I wrote to local authority chief executives on 10 August 2010 setting out that, as part of the Government's commitment to reducing centrally imposed burdens, stock holding local authorities would no longer be required to complete the Status survey or report against National Indicator 160 on local authority tenants' satisfaction with landlord services. Along with the Place Survey, these were expensive and burdensome cosmetic exercises. Instead, the new Government will be strengthening social tenants rights of redress as outlined in my Department's press notice of 18 October 2010.
	Local authority chief executives were notified in a letter dated 26 October that payments made through area based grant in respect of work to undertake the Status survey would consequently cease from October 2010.

Council Tax

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much on average was levied in council tax per dwelling in each local authority in 2009-10.

Bob Neill: The latest information on the average council tax levied per dwelling for individual authorities in England for 2009-10 was published in table 6 of the statistical release "Council tax levels set by local authorities in England-2009-10 (Revised)". This release was issued on 30 July 2009 and is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/counciltax200910update

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's annual budget for conferences was on  (a) 7 May 2010 and  (b) 7 December 2010.

Bob Neill: In May 2010 the Government announced plans to achieve £6.2 billion of savings in 2010-11 and introduced an immediate freeze on new marketing and communications spend. The Department, therefore, cancelled all space and stands at exhibitions and conferences except where they had already been paid for in full and cancellation costs exceeded the costs of attendance. Advice was also given to managers that careful consideration should be given to staff attendance at conferences but they may continue to do so where appropriate.
	The Department does not set an annual budget for conferences. Budgets are delegated to managers who have flexibility to move resources between different expenditure categories and update their expenditure plans monthly.

Departmental Pay

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff employed by his Department were not paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not currently employ, and has not employed in the last financial year, any staff who are paid less than a rate equivalent to the London living wage.

Departmental Plants

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the  (a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and  (b) Deputy Prime Minister's Office spent on pot plants during the period it was a Government Department.

Bob Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 14 September 2010,  Official Report, column 1027W, given to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths).
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister existed from May 2002 to May 2006 before becoming the Department of Communities and Local Government (ODPM). In July 2004, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister signed a contract with its current facilities management supplier for maintenance of internal plants in Eland House. Details on the expenditure on pot plants prior to July 2004 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	ODPM spent the following on the maintenance of pot plants during that period.
	
		
			  Contract year  July to June:  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 5,555.88 
			 2005-06 5,555.88 
		
	
	In July 2010, the Department gave due notice that this contract will be terminated; the contract will formally end in September 2010.
	Details of the expenditure on pot plants by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are not held.

Departmental Recruitment

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its agencies spent on job advertisements in  The Guardian newspaper in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Bob Neill: The Department has spent the following with  The Guardian newspaper on job advertisements:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 31,174 
			 2008-09 26,215 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Total 57,389 
		
	
	The Department' agencies have spent the following:
	
		
			  The Planning Inspectorate 
			   £ 
			 2007-08 3,450 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 6,871 
			 Total 10,320 
		
	
	
		
			  Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre 
			   £ 
			 2007-08 2,044 
			 2008-09 3,067 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Total 5,111 
		
	
	
		
			  Fire Service College 
			   £ 
			 2007-08 (1)- 
			 2008-09 1,116 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Total 1,116 
			 (1 )Fire Service college could supply figures for 2007-08 only at disproportionate cost.  Note: Figures include VAT. 
		
	
	As outlined in my Department's press notice of 6 July 2010, we believe there is significant scope to save taxpayers' money by publishing job vacancies online in an open and standardised format.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Swindon South of 30 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1518W, on housing revenue accounts, how much each local authority in England has paid to the Exchequer from its housing revenue account in each year since 2005-06.

Andrew Stunell: The housing revenue account subsidy amounts either paid or received by each local authority to the Exchequer for the years 2005-06 to 2009-10, are shown in a table that has been placed in the Library of the House. Negative figures denote subsidy payments made to the Exchequer.

Housing: Construction

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many homes started by the Homes and Communities Agency in 2009-10 have been completed since 1 April 2010;
	(2)  how many homes started by the Homes and Communities Agency in 2009-10 have not been completed.

Grant Shapps: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) published official statistics detailing its housing delivery programme achievements for the six months from 1 April 2010 to 30 September on 30 November 2010:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/six-monthly-housing-statistics
	The total number of units expected to be completed in 2010-11 are available in the update to HCA's Corporate Plan:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/public/documents/Corporate-Plan-2010-11-update.pdf
	Completions this year will be made up of starts from a number of earlier years so will not correlate directly with the starts from 2009-10.

Housing: Disability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the effect of cold housing on disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: Ministers in this Department have had a number of discussions with Ministers at the Department for Energy and Climate Change on measures to improve the energy efficiency of homes, so that all sections of the community can have warmer homes and lower fuel bills, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has recently published proposals for the Green Deal which is intended to achieve that. We have not had specific discussions about the effect of colder housing on disabled people.

Planning

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what funding his Department has allocated to assist local areas to meet the cost of preparing neighbourhood plans;
	(2)  what funding his Department has allocated to assist local areas with the cost of conducting referendums on neighbourhood plans.

Greg Clark: Funding for local authorities on neighbourhood planning is subject to the final outcome of the spending review process. I expect to make further announcements in due course. We have already announced funding and assistance for a Neighbourhood Planning Vanguard Scheme, information on which can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningsystem/neighbourhoodplanningvanguards/

Planning

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what organisations his Department plans to classify as competent to prepare and conduct consultations on neighbourhood plans.

Greg Clark: A parish council or a neighbourhood forum will be able to bring forward proposals for neighbourhood planning.
	In unparished areas, any organisation which is established to further the well being of residents of a neighbourhood, consists of and is open to all individuals living in the neighbourhood and has a written constitution can apply to the local authority to be considered as the neighbourhood forum for that area.
	Before being brought into effect, all proposals for neighbourhood planning must have the approval of a majority of voters in a referendum.

Planning: Referendums

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what rights he plans to give to  (a) residents,  (b) parish councils and  (c) community groups to challenge the outcome of a referendum on a neighbourhood plan.

Greg Clark: Parish councils will have the power to bring forward proposals for neighbourhood planning. Residents and community groups will have the opportunity to be engaged during the development of proposals and to make representations to an independent examination of proposals before they are put to a referendum.
	Actions of any public authority are also subject to challenge through existing legal processes.

Sleeping Rough

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data his Department holds on the age profile of rough sleepers contacted by outreach services since May 2010.

Grant Shapps: The Department does not collect information on the age profile of rough sleepers contacted by outreach services. However, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) database in London, which the Department funds Broadway (a homelessness charity) to run, does collect this information. Their Street to Home Annual report 2009-10 indicates the following breakdown:
	
		
			  Age  Percentage 
			 Under 18 0 
			 18-25 8 
			 26-35 26 
			 36-45 35 
			 46-55 21 
			 Over 55 10 
			  Source: CHAIN, London.

Sleeping Rough

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have not conducted a street count of rough sleepers in 2010.

Grant Shapps: Information on rough sleeping counts is available both in the Library and via the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1648099.xls
	Since 1998, only councils in areas with a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem were required to conduct an official rough sleeper count-which meant that only 70 councils submitted information to central Government. Figures published in July 2010 showed that under this previous method, on any given night there were 440 rough sleepers in England. However, when the remaining 256 councils provided estimates of the scale of the problem in their areas, this added a further estimated 807 rough sleepers-taking the national total to 1,247 rough sleepers on any given night.
	Under new guidance all councils across England will now provide information on rough sleeping. This move follows consultation with homelessness charities and councils and is aimed at getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area so more targeted support can be provided to some of the most vulnerable in society.

Social Rented Housing: Central Heating

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many social homes central heating was newly installed on at least one floor between 1997-98 and 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: We do not hold the data requested. Since 2001 we have collected data on the number of council dwellings that have had works to improve their central heating. 1,265,000 dwellings have received such works. We do not collect similar data from housing associations.

Social Rented Housing: Double Glazing

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social homes were fitted with double glazing between 1997-98 and 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: We do not hold the data requested. Since 2001 we have collected data on the number of council dwellings that have had windows replaced (it is reasonable to assume most replacement windows will be double glazed units). 1,172,000 dwellings have received replacement windows. We do not collect similar data from housing associations.

Social Rented Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department provided for repair and modernisation of social housing in each year from 1997-98 to 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: The following tables set out the funding support provided by the Department for repair and modernisation of social housing in each year from 1997-98 to 2009-10. Funding is provided in the form of Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Allowances and Capital Funding Allocations to local authorities. In addition, the Department has provided gap funding to housing associations in a limited number of housing stock transfers.
	
		
			  Departmental support by year for local authorities and gap funded housing associations 
			  £ 
			   HRA subsidy allowances 
			   Management and maintenance allowance  Major repairs allowance  Private finance initiative 
			 1997-98 3,305,129,205 - - 
			 1998-99 3,222,794,448 - - 
			 1999-2000 2,004,693,448 - - 
			 2000-01 1,964,595,014 - - 
			 2001-02 1,924,186,919 1,586,912,234 - 
			 2002-03 1,922,998,987 1,528,961,056 - 
			 2003-04 1,895,030,656 1,455,753,376 3,349,224 
			 2004-05 1,980,122,628 1,402,024,575 13,47o,756 
			 2005-06 2,046,667,384 1,353,498,281 21,629,591 
			 2006-07 2,115,024,665 1,307,534,539 47,497,727 
			 2007-08 2,046,612,201 1,247,960,645 84,648,077 
			 2008-09 2,040,298,214 1,240,045,822 86,752,135 
			 2009-10 2,048,328,187 1,250,408,574 91,541,916 
			 Total 28,516,481,956 12,373,099,102 348,894,426 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   HRA capital funding   
			   ALMO funding  Local authority supported capital expenditure  Gap funding for housing associations  Total departmental support by year 
			 1997-98 - 443,000,000 - 3,748,129,205 
			 1998-99 - 386,000,000 - 3,608,794,448 
			 1999-2000 - 452,000,000 - 2,456,693,448 
			 2000-01 - 1,819,000,000 - 3,783,595,014 
			 2001-02 - 684,000,000 - 4,195,099,153 
			 2002-03 55,924,286 785,000,000 - 4,292,884,329 
			 2003-04 321,126,161 837,000,000 - 4,512,259,417 
			 2004-05 576,803,882 741,004,000 1,600,000 4,715,030,841 
			 2005-06 854,162,176 821,716,993 9,772,000 5,107,446,425 
			 2006-07 781,814,984 341,070,000 31,842,000 4,624,783,915 
			 2007-08 925,690,000 311,680,000 79,277,000 4,695,867,923 
			 2008-09 896,110,590 272,418,000 124,956,000 4,660,580,761 
			 2009-10 930,000,000 266,027,000 148,786,000 4,735,091,677 
			 Total 5,341,632,079 8,159,915,993 396,233,000 55,136,256,556

Social Services: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the revenue spending power allocated to Blackpool borough council for 2011-12 he plans to allocate to NHS support for social care.

Bob Neill: The Government are providing £1 billion of additional funding by 2014-15, through the health budget to break down the barriers between health and social care. Blackpool primary care trust will transfer £2.442 million to Blackpool borough council in 2011-12 to support social care and benefit health. The Government will set out more detail on how the NHS should use this funding to support social care in the 2011-12 Operating Framework, which it will publish shortly.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2010,  Official Report, column 184W, on tenancy deposit schemes, who funds the free adjudication service for landlords in dispute over tenancy deposits.

Grant Shapps: The alternative dispute resolution services operated by the three tenancy deposit protection schemes are funded by the scheme providers as part of their overall running costs.